


It’s no secret (how I feel)

by tinyarmedtrex



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: (not like an air marshall), (wink wink), M/M, Marshall Eddie, Richie's ex is a dick, Witness Protection AU, and in the mob, but Eddie is gonna protect him, with his gun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-01-23 19:53:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21325741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinyarmedtrex/pseuds/tinyarmedtrex
Summary: Richie's life is turned upside down when he comes home from work one day to find his boyfriend beating up a cop. Richie quickly learns that he's in the mob and now Richie has to uproot his life and move to Chicago until he can testify at trial. Luckily the marshall assigned to protect him is kinda cute...
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 225
Kudos: 486





	1. Chapter 1

Richie entered the condo he rented with his boyfriend condo quietly, hoping to surprise the other man. He was home early from work and had picked up a pizza and a six pack of beer. He was hoping for a night of sex followed by terrible movies and more sex. The perfect Friday. 

He paused in the entryway, grabbing a piece of pizza and listening for Jeremy’s voice to figure out what room he was in. Richie knew he was off today; he’d said he felt sick that morning and wanted to sleep in. Richie had offered to stay home with him but Jeremy insisted he go in, saying that it was just a head cold. Before leaving for work, Richie had tucked him in, kissing his head in a way he knew Jeremy hated but endured. He wasn’t big on casual touches like goodbye kisses or holding hands. Richie was a huge fan of both so they tried to compromise, though usually Jeremy got his way. It was easier.

It took a second then Richie heard a familiar voice coming from one of their rooms. It sounded like Jeremy was talking to someone but the tone made Richie frown. It was completely different from the one he knew, the voice that sang alongside Richie as they made pancakes, the one that swore at him when he won in Mario Kart. 

The voice he heard was cold and steely, not at all like the one that teased him every time he wore only a Hawaiian shirt to bed. It made his blood run cold. 

“Listen Ryan, you little fuck. I need that information and I need it now. So fucking give it up. This doesn’t stop until you do.”

It didn’t make sense and for a second, Richie wondered if Jeremy was finally going to try out for a play, like Richie had been encouraging him to. He walked to the door, calling out as he neared.

“Hey babe, I’ve got pizza and a hard-”

He stopped mid-sentence, the pizza dropping to the ground as he stared. 

There, in their spare bedroom room, the one that they had decorated together with finds from Goodwill and Ikea sales, was his boyfriend and another man- but not in a sexy threesome sort of way. Richie would have been fine with that. He even would have been fine with the fact that the man was tied to a chair- he wasn’t one to judge kinks.

The issue was the state of the man. His face was beaten raw, blood dripping from several cuts and gashes. Jeremy was standing over him, one arm was holding the man by the shoulder and the other was drawing back, ready to punch him. Richie saw a flash of brass knuckles, metal bright against the blood. 

“Richie! Fuck. What the hell are you doing here?” Jeremy looked at him, dropping his hold on the man as he turned to face Richie. 

But Richie didn’t look at Jeremy. He was too busy staring at the man. His face was so bloody and bruised that he was nearly impossible to recognize- except for the fact that his picture was everywhere. Ryan Johnson, the cop that had been missing for over a week. Richie had reported on him several times during the news break of his radio show. He was suspected of being a dirty cop, taking bribes for the mob. He’d disappeared from his apartment without a trace and the police had no leads. 

And now here he was, in Richie’s house, his blood splattered over the ‘hang in there!’ poster that Richie had hung as a joke. 

“Help me,” Ryan croaked, his eyes fixed on Richie. But he couldn’t move. All he could do was stare, his gaze shifting from his boyfriends to the hostage to the blood, forming a neat little triangle of horror. 

At least he had put plastic wrap down.

“Richie, I can explain-” Jeremy stepped towards him but Richie shook his head. He was covered in blood. It made him look strange, inhuman, not like the man that did karaoke with Richie, the man that he’d taken to meet his parents. 

Richie didn’t know who this man was and it terrified him. 

“No.” Richie was shaking his head, begging his brain to make sense of all this. “No. No.” Then vomit rose in his mouth. He threw up over the floor, heaving more as it mixed with the blood and gore. 

Then he ran. He wasn’t proud of it but he did. He turned and ran to his car and then sped to the police station. He almost hoped that he’d get pulled over, just so he’d get to the cops sooner. He told them everything he’d seen and begged them to get to his house. 

After that, numbness set in. Richie was asked to wait in the station and he’d nodded, not sure where else he would go. He couldn’t go home, not after seeing that. 

He sat in the chair, holding a shitty cup of coffee and tried to figure out what the fuck had just happened. They’d been together two years. Two fucking years. They met bowling. Fucking bowling. Richie’s ball had ended up in Jeremy’s lane and then later Richie’s tongue was in his mouth and they’d never looked back.

Since that night, already several months ago, Richie had learned several things. Like that Jeremy was in the mob. That his real name was Mark. That a lot of people wanted to kill Richie before he could testify against him at the trial, which was still nearly a year out. That Richie couldn’t go home because it was still a crime scene; police were poring over a secret room that Richie had never noticed. At first, they had thought that he had to know what his boyfriend was up to, that he was lying, then they had realized, he really didn’t know anything and had been annoyed with how useless he was. 

It was a terrible few months. 

The prosecutor explained everything to Richie as it unfolded, answering his questions and generally being far nicer to him than was necessary. He knew he must seem pitiful, a man who was so unaware of his surroundings that his boyfriend killed people in their condo without him even questioning it, but Richie didn’t care. The numbness he felt that first night never really wore off, leaving him feeling slightly dissociated with all the events. 

What it all came down to was the fact that he had to go into witness protection. His new name would be Bill Cater and he’d be relocated to a suburb outside Chicago. A federal marshall would be assigned to him to help him acclimate and to protect him. 

Actually, more than assigned. Since he was a key witness in a high profile case, a marshall would be living with him, sharing the house. Richie had nodded through most of these details, not really caring about any of them. All he knew was that he was being uprooted and moved until the trial was over. Maybe even after that. He’d lost everything- his boyfriend, job, house. All of it was gone because he was dumb enough to fall for someone in the mob. 

He’d asked himself many times how he’d missed it, how he hadn’t noticed. For him, it came down to Jeremy’s charm. Under questioning from the police, Richie had remembered several strange incidents- late night phone calls or strange bags- but Jeremy had always told him not to worry, distracting Richie with a joke or by kissing him. And Richie was more than happy to go along with it; he had been utterly wowed by Jeremy.

As Richie left the airport and got in the black government sent car, he thought about all that. How easily he’d fallen under Jeremy’s spell. The man had seemed like a catch- good job, great hair and funny. Everything else he was willing to overlook because he’d felt lucky that Jeremy had even looked at him that first night. 

He let his head fall against the window, staring at his new home. It was so different than California, where he’d lived since college. Things were spread out, people had yards, trees grew in the distance. All of it was new and made him uncomfortable. At first, Richie had tried to talk to the agent who was driving, to ask him questions, even crack a few jokes, but he didn’t respond so Richie gave up. He had to remember that none of the agents or police were his friends, they were nice to him, yes but that was their job. They didn’t care about him beyond this trial. 

“We’re here.” The agent said, speaking his first full sentence. “You have a new name, a new identity. Your survival depends on you remembering this.” He handed Richie a thick stack of documents, tucked inside a large envelope. “Your marshall is waiting inside.”

Richie nodded, grabbing his bag from the backseat and taking the envelope. All his other things had been sent ahead- at least, those approved by the other agents. His photos and smaller personal items were in storage, deemed too dangerous to be allowed here.

As he stepped out, he looked at the perfect suburban house in front of him, complete with a white picket fence. Again, it was so different than the cramped condo he’d shared with Jeremy. That had been sandwiched between two other houses, the walls so thin that he always knew what his neighbors were up to. 

He walked up, reminding himself that this was temporary, that he’d be back home before he knew it. He didn’t know if that was true but he had to believe it. Otherwise, he’d crumble. 

“Hello?” He called as he entered. The place was already decorated, all grays and bland pictures of lighthouses and foggy forests. He hated it. He already missed the bright band posters and colorful throws that he’d been forced to put in storage. This place looked like someone ordered everything directly from a catalog. He hoped it wasn’t his new roomie’s style. 

“I’m in the dining room!” Someone called. 

Richie wandered over and got the first view of his new roommate and protector. The man was sitting at the table, a disassembled gun in front of him. 

“Time me,” He said, tossing Richie a stopwatch that he fumbled and nearly dropped.

“I- what?” 

“I’m going to put it back together and I want to try and beat my record.” He looked at Richie, his big brown eyes narrowed with intensity. “Tell me when to go.”

“Uh, go?” Richie said, clicking the stopwatch. He watched the man’s hands move furiously, picking up pieces and fitting them together. It was strangely sexy. Richie had never even fired a gun but watching this guy- he was impressed.

“Done!”

Richie moved quickly to stop the timer. “26 seconds.” He read and looked at the guy, who was smiling.

“Not quite my record but pretty good.” He stood, snapping the gun into his holster and extending a hand. “I’m Eddie Kaspbrak, I’ll be the marshall protecting you until trial.”

“Am I a plane?” Richie asked, extending his own hand. He wasn’t surprised that Eddie had a firm shake and rough hands. He had a feeling that the guy spent a lot of time at the gym.

“A what?” Eddie asked, moving back and putting his hands on his hips.

“A plane.” Richie raised his arms, pretending to fly. “Because you’re a marshall? Like an air marshall? Wow three weeks out of comedy and my jokes are already falling flat.” 

Eddie cracked a smile. “Different kind of marshall. I hate flying.” He gave Richie a long look that Richie returned, soaking in the man’s appearance. There was no denying that the guy was cute, in a ‘could definitely beat Richie up without breaking a sweat’ kind of way. He was wearing a black shirt and jeans, clothes that looked easy to move in. Even though he was just standing there, Richie could tell that there was power behind his short frame. 

“So Richie, since we’re going to be ‘married’,” he put the words in air quotes, “for the next few months should we sit down and get to know each other?” Eddie pointed to the kitchen. “It’s fully stocked. I wasn’t sure what you liked so I got you a bit of everything. I think I’m going to have tea, if you want some?”

Richie didn’t respond, stuck on Eddie’s first sentence. “Married? Wait- what?”

Eddie arched an eyebrow. “We’re husbands. The big men decided that it was the best cover. Didn’t you read your file?” 

Richie thought back guiltily to the documents he’d been handed. “Pretend I didn’t.” 

Eddie shook his head, walking into the kitchen. “We’re the Caters, married for two years, together for five. We met at a single’s bar and you picked me up.”

“Picked you up, huh? I must be pretty smooth.” Richie said, leaning against the doorframe as Eddie filled the kettle. 

“Or something.” Eddie lifted it, silently asking if Richie wanted any. He nodded. He wasn’t a tea person but maybe Bill was.

“We moved here to get away from the craziness of New York because you want to write. I’m a mechanic, my name is Frank. You’re in advertising and work from home. At least, until you write your first book.” Eddie put the kettle over the heat then turned around. “Any of that ring a bell?”

Richie shrugged. “I may need to peruse the documents once more.”

Eddie’s eyes narrowed, the laughter gone. “This is for your safety, Richie. You need to take this seriously. We can’t slip up or Jeremy may find you. You understand that, right?”

He nodded. Secretly, he didn’t think that Jeremy would ever try to hurt him, not really, but he knew others would. “I’ll read it, I swear.”

“Good.” Eddie turned again, grabbing two mugs. Richie appreciated that Eddie didn’t lecture him. 

“So are we sharing a room?” Richie asked as he wandered around the kitchen, opening drawers and cabinets. It probably wasn’t the most important thing but if they were married, it made sense. 

Eddie shook his head, adding the tea bags. “No, I have a guest room. There’s no need for us to be in the same bed.”

Richie didn’t know if he was relieved or not. It had been a long time since he’d slept next to someone besides Jeremy. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for it but he also liked sharing a bed, cuddling with someone. He glanced at Eddie. The man didn’t exactly look like a cuddler, he seemed more like someone who built a pillow wall between him and the other person. 

“We’ve got a long weekend to talk and learn more about each other before anything real starts. There’s a neighborhood party in a week. It’ll be a good test run.” Eddie added the water to the tea then went out to the living room, shaking his head at the couch. “I hate the government’s way to decorating, it’s so soulless.” He commented as he handed Richie a mug. 

Richie cracked a smile, relieved that Eddie felt the same as him. “It’s pretty damn depressing.” He said, sitting on the other side of the couch. He sipped the tea, finding that he still didn’t like it but grateful to have something to do with his hands. 

“Well Richie,” Eddie said, curling his hands around his mug, “Tell me about yourself.” 

It turned out the two of them had more in common than Richie was expecting. They had the same favorite movies and books and, more importantly, sense of humor. Eddie was biting and sarcastic and he had a little snort that escaped when he found something really funny. Richie made it his mission to hear it as often as he could.

Eddie wasn’t at all what he expected. He’d been picturing an action movie body guard- someone gruff and serious, with very little personality. Instead, Eddie was a spitfire, funny, intense and quirky. Richie had seen him apply hand sanitizer at least three times. 

They spent the whole afternoon talking, eventually ordering a pizza when both admitted they didn’t like to cook.

“Ugh, you like pineapple on your pizza? We’re getting a divorce.” Eddie joked, watching as Richie placed the order. 

“You just wait- once you try it, you’ll be singing its praises.” He said, closing his laptop and looking up. Eddie was perched on the arm of the couch, close to Richie but not so close it was improper. 

“What?” Eddie asked, wiping his face. “You’re staring.”

“I just- thought you’d be different. More of a hardass. Isn’t part of government training the removal of a sense of humor?” 

“That’s only for level four and up.” He quipped, smiling when Richie laughed. Then he added, “I’m new to all this. Joined late. Most people get picked up after college but I was delayed so maybe I’m less government-y than others.”

“I’ve got the newbie protecting me? And here I thought I was important.” Richie pretended to be offended and Eddie rolled his eyes. 

“I’ve been through all the training. I even came in first in hand to hand combat.”

“I’m not great in a fight.” Richie admitted. “My go to self defense move is to throw a stapler.” 

Eddie shook his head. “That won’t do. You gotta know how to defend yourself.” He stood, motioning for Richie to do the same. “I’ll teach you some basic moves.”

“Eds I have like a foot on you. What can you-” He yelped as Eddie moved in and put him in a headlock. “Okay okay! I give!”

Eddie released him with a smile then moved behind Richie. “Pretend I have a gun to your back.” 

Richie felt something poke him and turned his head. “Is that a gun to my back or are you just happy to see me?”

“God you’re definitely going to get shot. Maybe by me.” Eddie said. “Look ahead. Okay now back up until you feel the weapon pressing into your back and then spin, try to slap it out of my hand.”

Richie listened, trying to follow Eddie’s directions and failing miserably. He missed Eddie’s hand completely.

“Here, I’ll show you.” Eddie gave Richie the pencil he’d been holding and turned around. Richie barely had time to hold it up before Eddie was spinning around and knocking it across the room. “See? Then the gun is across the room and you’d have time to run.”

He made Richie practice it several times, encouraging Richie each time he missed and then making him do it again. The first time he managed to actually knock the pencil away, Eddie cheered, jumping up and down. Richie grinned at his enthusiasm. 

“There, now I won’t die from that at least.” Richie commented once he’d done it three times in a row. 

He was about to fall to the couch when Eddie shook his head. “Lay down.” The other man instructed, pointing to the floor. 

“God Eds, on our first date?” Richie joked, following Eddie’s directions. Eddie rolled his eyes as he crawled on top of Richie. He put his hands over Richie’s throat.

“Now if someone is choking you-”

“Kinky.”

“Nonconsensually.” Eddie added, smirking. “You want to throw them off balance. Buck your hips up and try to use your thighs to knock them off.” 

He swallowed another comment and tried what Eddie had said, thrusting his hips and flailing against Eddie. The other man didn’t move. His hands stayed loosely on Richie’s throat and he just looked amused. 

After a minute, Richie gave up. He was tired, he never worked out in California and now he was bordering on sweaty. 

“You gotta show me.” Richie asked. 

Eddie crawled off him and laid down, letting Richie get on top of him. “You remember the safe word there, pumpkin?” Richie joked as his hands lightly wrapped around Eddie’s neck.

He was rewarded with a light blush- something he hadn’t been expecting. Before he could say anything more though, Eddie was moving, flipping them so he was back on top of Richie.

“Fuck, that was hot.” Richie said, staring up at Eddie once more. He liked how he felt under Eddie, how Eddie looked on him. Something tugged in his stomach, a heat that Richie hadn’t expected to feel for a long time. 

Looking at Eddie, Richie thought that, maybe, he felt it too. He was blushing again, not quite meeting Richie’s eyes. 

Then their doorbell was ringing and Eddie was quickly crawling off him, checking their peephole before opening the door to grab the pizza and crazy bread. Richie wasn’t sure if he was grateful or pissed about the interruption. Eddie seemed grateful, bustling to the kitchen and opening the boxes while Richie stood. 

“You know crazy bread is the same thing as pizza with an added step.” Eddie commented as Richie grabbed them plates.

“But that step makes all the difference.” Richie told him, taking a piece of his pineapple and sausage pizza and groaning as he took a bite. 

“Okay Eds, you gotta try this.” Richie said, holding it out for him. 

Eddie eyed it skeptically. “Only if you don’t call me that again.”

“It’s a nickname!” 

“So is Eddie. Plus you need to call me Frank.” 

Richie rocked on his heels. “Fine, I’ll think of a Frank-approved nickname. Now,” He held the slice up. “Try it.” 

Eddie looked like he wanted to refuse but didn’t, instead leaning in to take a bite. Richie watched eagerly as he chewed. “See? It’s delicious right?”

Eddie swallowed, shaking his head. “No, it’s awful. I think your taste buds are broken.” 

“Ppff, you just have no taste buds left. They get burned off when you join the government.” Richie replied, taking several pieces of pizza and crazy bread. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he smelled the food. Since everything happened with Jeremy, he hadn’t been hungry, instead eating only when he remembered, but now he was starving. 

“Wanna watch a movie?” Richie asked, grabbing a beer from the fridge. They really did have a well stocked kitchen.

“Sure.” 

The two moved to the couch, easily agreeing on a movie and throwing it on. For the first time in weeks, Richie felt like himself. He hadn’t fully relaxed since that night but here, with Eddie, it felt like maybe things could be okay. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie put a finger to his lips, pretending for a second that he couldn’t remember. “Do you mean- Ramen-palooza? Or Rockin’ Ramen? Because we liked both.”
> 
> Eddie smiled, a sure sign that he was pleased. “Leave it to Bill to remember the puns. I meant Rockin’ Ramen, thanks babe.”
> 
> Richie bent down, pressing a kiss to Eddie’s hair before moving away. As he did, he heard Sharon comment how cute they were. It made Richie’s stomach flip. He and Eddie had been practicing small gestures, things to make it look like they were together. Richie was good at that; he was cuddly by nature, but he couldn’t deny that there was something special about doing it with Eddie.

“Bill! Bill! Hello,  _ husband _ !” 

Richie whipped his head around, finally realizing that Eddie was calling for him. “Yea Frankalicious?” He replied, wandering over to the other man and winding an arm around him. Eddie leaned into it slightly, making him smile. 

“I was trying to remember that little ramen shop we loved, the one around the corner from our apartment in New York?” Eddie looked up at him, the picture of a suburban husband in his bland slacks and polo. It was different than how he dressed in the house, where he seemed to favor sweatpants and fitted shirts. It was a good reminder that this was a facade, it wasn’t who they really were. Richie had cleaned up too, wearing something besides his faded band shirts. Eddie had refused to let him wear them outside, saying that Bill didn’t like music like Richie did. Another thing that Richie had to adjust to. 

He knew the question was a test. They’d spent the two weeks coming up with stories about themselves and their relationship, as well as getting to know each other. Richie learned that Eddie couldn’t cook for shit after he’d reduced their frozen pizza to blackened char. Eddie learned that Richie had a habit of singing loudly in the shower- and walking around nude after. 

That had led to some ground rules. 

But overall, it was going well, better than Richie could have expected. He liked being around Eddie, enough that he had stopped thinking of only Jeremy and everything he’d given up. The other man really poured himself into his work, making sure that Richie was happy and comfortable- while also insisting that they focus. He’d been given the week off but in two days, both of them started their new jobs. Richie was trying to look forward to it, even though the thought of working from home every day sounded like torture. 

Richie put a finger to his lips, pretending for a second that he couldn’t remember. “Do you mean- Ramen-palooza? Or Rockin’ Ramen? Because we liked both.”

Eddie smiled, a sure sign that he was pleased. “Leave it to Bill to remember the puns. I meant Rockin’ Ramen, thanks babe.”

Richie bent down, pressing a kiss to Eddie’s hair before moving away. As he did, he heard Sharon comment how cute they were. It made Richie’s stomach flip. He and Eddie had been practicing small gestures, things to make it look like they were together. Richie was good at that; he was cuddly by nature, but he couldn’t deny that there was something special about doing it with Eddie. Something that made him wish it wasn’t quite so pretend. 

He shook his head, trying not to think about it. He was still six types of fucked up from Jeremy and he was sure that Eddie didn’t think about him that way. No good would come from his daydreaming. 

As he went to get another plate of food, Richie got swept up talking to the host of the party and their next door neighbor, Dan. It was the first time he was meeting everyone and he’d been trying to focus on learning names and houses- neither were his strong suit. He had wanted to stay by Eddie the whole time and rely on the other man’s seemingly perfect memory but Eddie had insisted they split up, saying it was better if Richie had to try and remember on his own. Richie smiled, remembering the eye roll Eddie had given him when he’d called him a tiny dictator, emphasis on the  _ dick _ .

Overall though, Richie was proud of himself. He remembered most things from Bill’s personality and only slipped once. He and Dan had been discussing comedians, something that Bill knew nothing about, and had accidentally listed several before remembering. He’d had to backtrack and then listen as Dan told Richie about Jim Gaffigan like he’d been the one to discover him. He’d gritted his teeth through the whole thing, nodding along when necessary. 

Ten minutes later, he felt a hand on his back. Even now, it took him a second to remember that it was Eddie, not Jeremy. 

“Should we get going, babe?” Eddie asked, looking up at him. “I know you wanted to turn in early.” 

He nodded, thankful that Eddie had appeared to rescue him. “That’d be great.”

Eddie nodded then turned to their host. “Thank you so much for inviting the neighborhood newbies. We really appreciate it.”

Dan nodded, “Happy to have some new blood in the neighborhood! You two don’t be strangers now!” He said, pretending to punch both of them as they walked away. “Take some jello salad for the road!”

“Oh, we couldn’t possibly!” Richie called back over his shoulder, “I’ve had enough jello salad for a lifetime!”

Eddie laughed, hitting Richie’s chest. “Be nice!” He hissed, both glancing back to see if Dan had picked up on the sarcasm. He’d already moved on to talking with someone else. 

“Eds, pineapple doesn’t belong suspended in jello. You know I’m right. What the fuck midwest?” 

Richie knew he’d slipped up as soon as he spoke. “Shit, sorry. Wrong name.”

Eddie’s eyes narrowed and darted around, trying to tell if anyone had heard. He seemed to decide they were out of ear shot and relaxed slightly. 

“You did really well.” Eddie said as they crossed the street to their house. “Only messed up a few times.”

“Well, someone has been drilling me for days.” 

Eddie shrugged as he unlocked the door. “It’s life or death, Richie. We can’t afford mistakes. You need to be perfect.”

Richie kicked off his shoes and fell to the couch. “I know, I know. It just- it’s a lot. Some of us didn’t go through years of training.”

Eddie followed suit, falling next to Richie. “No amount of training could have prepared me for hot dish.” 

“God, what was that? And chili with spaghetti noodles?” Richie shook his head. “The food here is something else.” 

Eddie nodded then turned to look at him. Richie knew the lecture portion of the day wasn’t over. “I’m being serious. You can’t mess up. I know you played it off today but if Jeremy sends someone to find you-”

“I know, Eds!” Richie put a hand over Eddie’s. This was a refrain he was used to hearing- that he had to do better or risk being caught, that any little thing could lead to them being found. It was a lot of pressure for someone who normally only worried about how his plastic plants were doing.

“I know, okay?” Richie continued. “I’m not trying to be a fuck up. There’s just a lot to remember. Cut a guy some slack. I got moved to corn country and lost the only person who cared about me.” 

Eddie’s eyes fell to Richie’s hand and he pulled back, seeming to almost collapse in on himself. Richie wasn’t used to this, how quickly Eddie’s moods could shift. Jeremy had always been unflappable, like nothing ever bothered him or got to him. Eddie though, Eddie was a lot more complicated and Richie didn’t understand yet what made him tick. 

“I care about you.” Eddie mumbled, making Richie feel like shit. 

“I didn’t mean it-”

Eddie stood, shaking his head. “No, I know. You found out that Jeremy was a different person. I’m not asking you to get over it or him but I do need you to memorize your facts, it's the only thing that will keep both of us safe.” 

“I know that.” He said, trying to hold back his annoyance. 

Eddie glanced at the time. “I’m going for a run. I’ll be back in an hour.”

He nodded, wishing he could say something else. It felt like this was their first semi-fight and he wanted to say something to make it better. But Eddie was already in his room, changing. 

Trying not to act like a sulking teen, Richie stood up, going to his room and grabbing the documents that he still hadn’t read through. Eddie had been able to answer all his questions so he hadn’t had a reason to look through it but now seemed like the time to prove that he was serious. He opened the packet, starting to read the dull ten point font. The first few pages seemed designed to terrify him, stories about the statistics of people being found and the lengths the agency went through to relocate people. He slumped down, wishing he had some whiskey with him. 

When he woke up several hours later from his accidental nap, it was dark out. It took him a second to realize why he’d woken up at all. Then he heard it, a noise outside his window, like someone was trying to get in. His first impulse was to go investigate but then he remembered that Eddie had drilled it into him to get him if he saw or heard anything. 

So, his heart pounding, he wandered over to Eddie’s room. “Eds,” He hissed from the doorway.

Eddie was wake in a second, springing up. “What?” He asked, rubbing his eyes.

Richie tried to ignore that Eddie wasn’t wearing a shirt as he explained what he’d heard. 

“Wait in my room, by the bed. If you hear anything, I want you to get under it and stay quiet.” Eddie told him, grabbing the gun from his bed stand. Eddie padded out of the room and Richie waited, anxiety starting to build in him. He hadn’t really thought that anything would happen to him- despite everything, he thought that Jeremy still loved him and wouldn’t hurt him. But, for the first time, he wondered if that wasn’t true. He shivered at the realization that someone could be trying to get him and that Eddie was out there right now, possibly getting hurt because of it. 

And he couldn’t do shit about it.

Eddie returned a few minutes later, shaking his head. “You’re safe. It was just a raccoon.” 

“Oh,” Richie let out a shaky breath and relaxed. “I feel stupid now.” 

“No, it was good.” Eddie looked at him. “Are you okay?” 

Richie knew he should lie. Making him feel better wasn’t Eddie’s job but there wasn’t exactly anyone else he could talk to.

“No,” He shook his head. “This is- it’s a lot.” He was still on edge out from the documents he’d read and the noise he’d heard. He wasn’t cut out for this life, for secrets and lies. It wasn’t him. 

Eddie nodded, chewing on his bottom lip like he wanted to say something. “Should I make us some tea? Do you want to talk?” He seemed genuinely concerned and it made Richie feel a little better. 

“No.” He wasn’t going to keep Eddie up, especially when he’d already woken the other man for a fucking racoon. “Thanks, though.” 

Eddie nodded, watching as Richie padded past him. Richie had trouble falling back asleep and when he did, he had a terrible nightmare about Jeremy. He was dressed as racoon and kept clawing at their walls.

“Richie!” Someone was shaking him. Richie opened his eyes slowly, seeing a concerned Eddie leaning over him. 

“What- What are you doing here?” He asked, fumbling for his glasses. 

“You were screaming, I wanted to make sure you were okay.” The man said, drawing his hand back.

“Right as rain.” He said, hoping his smile was convincing. When Eddie didn’t move, he added, “You can go back to sleep. I’ll be okay.”

Eddie still didn’t move. His brows furrowed then he said, “You know it’s okay not to be okay, right? You’ve had a lot happen.”

Richie nodded. Maybe he needed to process but now, at 2am, wasn’t the time. “I know.” 

“Well if you need anything -” Eddie offered again, backing up.

“Actually-” Richie felt dumb asking but Eddie had offered. “Would you stay here?”

Eddie nodded immediately. “I’ll grab a blanket and sleep on the floor.”

“Eds no, in the bed. I’m not making you sleep on the ground. Plus-” He rubbed his neck. “It helps me, having someone close.”

Eddie hesitated and Richie wondered if he’d overstepped. Eddie’s protection probably didn’t include his bed.

“You know what it’s fine, I’ll be-”

“No.” Eddie walked over, crawling into bed next to Richie. “It’s okay. You can make it up to me by going on a run tomorrow.” He said, flipping to face Richie. 

He grimaced, laying back down. “Not worth it, you can leave.”

Eddie chuckled then put a hand on Richie’s shoulder. “You know I’m here for you, right? As long as you don’t spoon me.” 

He nodded. “I know, thanks Eds. No promises about the cuddling though.” Eddie smiled. As Richie flipped off the lights, he already felt better. He refused to examine if it was having someone generally besides him or Eddie specifically. 

When he woke up the next morning, he wasn’t surprised to see that he was curled next to Eddie, an arm draped over him. Richie had always been a sleep cuddler, regardless of the other person. He was more surprised that Eddie was draped over him too, his leg slung over Richie’s, ankle hooked to keep him close. It was utterly endearing, how close Eddie had pulled him, like he was trying to protect Richie even in his sleep. 

He knew he should move back but he couldn’t convince himself to stop looking at Eddie. His face was relaxed, lips parted. He looked angelic, especially with his blond curls framing his face. He felt something stir in him, a longing he hadn’t felt in a long time. He wanted to cup Eddie’s face, to kiss him gently awake, to do a number of other things with him. 

“Not good,” Richie mumbled to himself, the thought giving him the final push to get up. Of course as he did, it woke Eddie.

“What-” Eddie blinked, waking up to see Richie. “Oh, shit. Hi.”

“Hi.” The two stared at each other and then both scrambled to get up, moving to opposite sides of the bed and watching each other warily like both were waiting for the other to tease them. 

“Thanks for staying with me.” Richie said, breaking the awkward silence. 

“Someone had to protect you from the evil racoon.” Eddie joked and they both laughed. Like that, the air rushed back into the room and things went back to normal. 

“You know racoons, they always have murder on their little minds.” 

“Sure Richie. I’m not sure what they could even grab with their little hands.” Eddie snorted then bent down, touching his toes as he stretched. Richie didn’t mean to stare but his eyes caught on the curve of Eddie’s bare back and on his ass. He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. He couldn’t think about this. 

“The better to break in with.” Richie said, turning around to grab jeans. Wearing only boxers around Eddie was not a good idea. 

“Not those.” Eddie said, seeing what Richie had grabbed.

“Dictating my clothes? Is that in your contract?” 

Eddie shook his head. “We’re going on a run. You promised, remember?” 

Richie pursed his lips, shaking his head. “No, no. That doesn’t sound like me. At all.” 

“It was you at 2am.” He said, turning to open one of Richie’s drawers. 

“That’s not the real me, that’s a fake me. You can’t trust that bastard.”

Eddie closed the first drawer and opened another. “Unfortunately, I did. He looked just like you.” 

Richie watched Eddie look through his clothes, equally amused and surprised that Eddie was so comfortable with going through his things.

“You know, eventually you’re gonna find my secret kinky drawer.” Richie commented as Eddie closed another one.

“It’s not your bedside table?” Eddie asked, squatting down to look at the bottom drawer. His back muscles moved as he searched and Richie had a hard time not staring at them, thinking about how strong Eddie was. Richie was sure that, despite his height, Eddie could manhandle him. The thought of it was damn sexy and Richie moved his hand over his groin, grateful that Eddie was distracted. 

“I dunno, you’ll have to check.” 

Eddie shook his head. “Not what I’m looking for at the moment.” He stood, looking at Richie. “You need running shorts. Do you have any work out clothes?”

He thought for a second then dove in his closet. “I’ve got this!” He said, holding a pair of bright green leggings over his head.

“Do I even want to know?”

“I went as Peter Pan for Halloween.” Richie said, “These make my ass look great.”

Eddie laughed. “I doubt it. You’ve got a pancake back there.”

Richie couldn’t even be upset. “You’ve looked?” He asked, holding the leggings to his chest. He was sure he was grinning like a child but the thought of Eddie checking out his ass made Richie strangely hopeful. 

“Maybe.” Eddie said, shrugging at him. But there was a small smirk on his face and Richie felt that twang again. 

Then Eddie seemed to have realized what they were talking about and changed the subject. “Put the leggings on, we leave in ten minutes.” With that, he walked out of the room.

“I still didn’t agree!” Richie called after him. Eddie didn’t seem to care though, so Richie looked down at the leggings and decided that it was easiest to agree. 

Eleven minutes later, he went into the kitchen and found Eddie wearing a gray tank top and a pair of red leggings with incredibly short black shorts over them. He looked ready to run a marathon. He also looked hot. Really hot.

Richie was pretty sure he looked like Elf. 

Eddie glanced at him, pressing his lips together so he didn’t smile. “Shut up.” Richie pointed at him. “Not all of us were forced to do physical fitness for our fancy government jobs.” 

He threw his hands up. “I didn’t say shit.” He already had his shoes on so Richie put his on too, standing and pretending to stretch while Eddie watched, shaking his head. 

“Enough stalling,” He said after a few minutes. “Let’s pound some pavement.”

“Not the type of pounding I prefer.” Richie mumbled, following Eddie out the door. They started at a slow pace, slow enough that they two of them could talk, which Richie was grateful for. He rarely worked out and doing it before breakfast was even less common. 

“You know, this isn’t so bad.” Richie admitted. “It’s nice out, there’s birds. You’re in a tank top-” 

Eddie shook his head, already used to ignoring Richie’s flirting. “Then let’s speed up!” He said, breaking into a light sprint.

Richie groaned but followed, mostly keeping up with Eddie until he stopped abruptly, causing Richie to run into him. 

“How are you holding up?” He asked. Eddie had barely broken a sweat and Richie wondered how much Eddie had been holding back. 

Richie took a few deep breaths, patting himself all over. “I’m okay. Nothing broken, no wheezing. I  _ might  _ not hate running.” 

Eddie’s expression turned mischievous. “Wanna race back?” 

Richie clicked his tongue, thinking about it. “What do I get if I win?”

“That’s a pretty big if.” Richie shrugged and Eddie thought for a second then said, “You can pick our next movie date.”

Eddie insisted that they look like a normal couple, including dates. Their last two movie dates Richie had wanted to go see a romantic comedy but Eddie refused, saying they gave him heartburn. 

He eagerly nodded. “ _ Love speaks Eons _ , here we come.” Eddie laughed, grabbing his leg and stretching. Richie followed suit. 

“And if I win?” Eddie asked. 

“Hm, tricky.” Richie tapped his lips, watching as Eddie continued to stretch. “If you win- if you win, I’ll watch that dumb murder show you keep going on and on about.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “It’s about the investigation, not the murder.”

“It’s depressing as hell.”

Eddie held out his hand, “It’s a deal.” 

Richie grasped his hand, giving it a firm shake. “Okay Eds, I should warn you, I’ve been holding back. You haven’t really seen these Tozier legs at work, I’m like roadrunner.” He gestured down to his legs and Eddie snorted.

“I’m not worried. On the count of three. One, two-”

On two, Richie took off, running as fast as he could. 

“You ass!” Eddie shouted. 

“Sorry, Franky-poo! I need all the advantages I can get.” Richie said, not looking behind him. He knew that Eddie would catch up soon enough and he needed to focus on not tripping.

Sure enough, a minute later Eddie passed him, giving Richie the middle finger as he did. “See you at home!” Eddie called. Richie suspected that he still wasn’t really trying. Eddie stayed only a few feet in front of him as they ran, occasionally taunting him. Richie couldn’t really complain though, this view of Eddie was nothing short of magnificent. Sweat was rolling down his back and his shirt clung to him. It helped distract him from the fire in his lungs. 

When their house was back in view, Richie put on a last burst of energy, darting forward as Eddie reached their fence. He grabbed Eddie around his waist, quickly spinning so the man was behind him.

“No fucking fair!” Eddie yelled as Richie took the lead.

“All's fair in love and date night!” Richie called. He was nearly to their steps before Eddie caught up again, grabbing Richie’s hand and tugging him back. Richie would have landed on his ass except that he grabbed Eddie’s waist, using the other man to keep him upright.

“No!” Richie cried, laughing. He threw both arms around Eddie’s waist, bracing his feet to stop him.

“Really?” Eddie looked back at him, laughing too. “You’re like a toddler.”

“I can’t lose, Eds.” Richie replied, trying to keep Eddie back while reaching for the door himself. He was behind Eddie but his grip still reached further and his fingertips touched the handle, pulling it open. 

“Me either!” Eddie said, surging forward and through the door. He took Richie with him and both of them ended up sprawled on the floor, laughing. Richie was on top of Eddie and god, the man looked good like this, sweaty and laughing.

“You’re such a cheater!” Eddie said, lightheartedly shoving Richie’s shoulder. 

Richie grinned down at him. “You told me to use my resources! That’s exactly what I did.” He reached up, brushing some of Eddie’s hair aside. With a start, Richie realized how much he wanted to kiss Eddie. He was pretty sure Eddie had the same thought as he went quiet, simply staring up at Richie. 

“Eds-”

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything.” A voice said behind them. Eddie craned his head back then shoved Richie off him, scrambling to his feet.

“Mr. Anderson. No, sir. Sorry, sir.” 

Richie was slower getting to his feet. In front of them was an older man that he didn’t know, dressed in the standard ill fitting marshall suit. Richie assumed that he was Eddie’s superior from how Eddie’s demeanor shifted- shoulders thrown back, any trace of laughter gone from his face. It was startling how quickly he changed.

“Hello, Agent Kaspbrak. Mr. Tozier,” He extended a hand. “I’m Mr. Anderson, I’m here with an update and to see how things are going.” 

“Call me Richie, I hate being called Mr. Tozier. And it’s great.” Richie replied, glancing at Eddie. Eddie didn’t look back. “Things are going great.”

Mr. Anderson chuckled. “I’m afraid I need a bit more than that. Eddie, would you be so kind as to make us some coffee while I talk to Richie? Maybe you’d also like to shower and change into something more appropriate.”

Richie prickled at how the man spoke to Eddie, but Eddie didn’t seem to mind. With a sharp ‘yes sir’, he disappeared into the kitchen while Richie and Mr. Anderson went to the table. Richie was stiff, annoyed that Eddie had been dismissed. He didn’t want to talk to this guy, especially by himself. 

If Mr. Anderson picked up on that, he didn’t let it show. “Tell me Richie, how are you doing? How is your new life?”

Richie sat down across from the man, trying to relax. Something about him set Richie on edge. The man smiled with too many teeth and he didn’t like it.

“Like I said, good. Eddie is fantastic and I’m lucky to have him. The house is great, our neighbors are cool. Life is good.”

Mr. Anderson nodded slowly. “That’s good to hear. Good. I’m glad you like Eddie. He’s taking care of you? Helping you adjust?”

“Yup.”

Mr. Anderson glanced behind them then leaned in, his voice quieter. “You know Richie, Eddie has a job to do here. He’s here to protect you until the trial and that’s it. You understand that, right?” 

Richie nodded tersely, not liking the implications of his words. “Good. And if Eddie was to step over the line,” He paused and Richie very clearly remembered the scene from a few minutes ago. “He would have to be fired. We can’t have our agents fraternizing with their charges.” Mr. Anderson leaned back, eyes scanning Richie’s face. “You understand what I’m saying, right? We need caution right now, not recklessness. It’s your life at stake after all. We can’t let things become compromised.” 

Richie didn’t want to respond but it was obvious he was waiting for something so he said, “I understand.” He tried to school his face into something calm, not giving anything away. Inside though, he felt a mixture of ashamed and angry. Ashamed that they were caught acting like that, that Eddie’s boss had seen it. Angry that Mr. Anderson felt the need to say something when they hadn’t actually done anything. He knew that this would embarrass Eddie and that made him even more angry. 

“Eddie has been the perfect agent.” Richie added. “He’s never stepped out of line.” 

Mr. Anderson hummed, not seeming to believe him. Then he shrugged. “It doesn’t matter anyway. The trial is approaching.” He reached into a briefcase that Richie hadn’t noticed before and handed him a thick envelope. 

“Great, more homework,” Richie said, opening it and flipping to some random pages. 

“This is what you need to know about the trial. And one other thing.” Mr. Anderson paused and Richie felt Eddie behind them. He had appeared with three mugs and muffins. 

“Jeremy’s latest bail request was granted. He’s under house arrest but he’s not in jail anymore.”

“What?” Both said at once. Richie looked back at Eddie, who looked furious. Richie wasn’t sure how he felt besides shocked. All the agents had told him that Jeremy would be safely locked up until the trial started. It was one of the only things that had seemed certain. 

“He can’t be let out! What idiot judge would allow that?” Eddie asked, starting to pace.

“One on their payroll.” Mr. Anderson said matter of factly. He looked at Richie. “Listen, he’s staying at a friend’s house in San Diego. He’s under 24 hour surveillance. We’ll know if he so much as leaves to get the mail. You’re going to be fine. The trial is soon and then all of this will be over.”

Richie forced himself to nod, knowing it was what Mr. Anderson wanted. Inside though, he felt numb and terrified. Jeremy was free and if Richie was certain of one thing, it was that the other man was persistent to the point of obsession. Knowing he was states away didn’t give him any comfort. 

“I need to go shower.” He mumbled, not waiting for a response from the others. He spent a long time getting ready, thinking through everything. While he still didn’t want to believe that Jeremy would hurt him, the files he’d been given seemed to indicate otherwise. The man had left a long trail of dead bodies behind him and Richie was less certain that he wouldn’t end up as one. 

By the time he came back out, Mr. Anderson was gone and Eddie was making breakfast. “Do you want anything?” He asked, eyeing Richie cautiously. 

He shook his head. “Just coffee.” 

Eddie poured him a new cup, their fingers brushing as he handed it to Richie. It wasn’t fair, how Richie could feel so damn scared but also so safe. 

“I’ll protect you Richie, whatever it takes.” 

Eddie looked so damn certain. Richie desperately wanted to believe him. He nodded. “I know, Eds.”

“What do you need Richie?” Eddie asked. “Anything. You want, we can even rent a cheesy rom com.”

Richie chuckled. “Maybe later. Right now though I just need a hug.”

Richie said it offhandedly, not expecting anything but Eddie moved in, his arms wrapping around Richie and hugging him tight. Richie returned it, feeling so secure in Eddie’s arms that he never wanted to move. Even as they hugged, Mr. Anderson’s warnings rang through his mind, telling him to be cautious. Right then though, Richie didn’t care. All he cared about was Eddie’s arms around him, his cheek pressed against Richie’s chest and his hair tickling Richie’s chin. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well the finale of dancing with the stars is tonight so-” Richie said, trying to make a joke. It fell flat. Eddie looked up at him, big eyes watching Richie carefully. 
> 
> “The finale was last week.” Eddie said, stripping the pads off his hands. “You cried.”
> 
> “The little girl with the limp won! I can’t believe you didn’t! You’re just heartless.”
> 
> Eddie shook his head, smiling. “Sure. Just because I don’t blubber over someone doing the tango-”
> 
> “Cold, heartless, robotic.” 

After Mr. Anderson dropped the bomb of Jeremy being released Eddie insisted on even more training. He increased their daily self-defense training and started to make Richie run drills to see how quickly he could get out of the house. Eddie never said anything about it, but Richie could sense Eddie’s stress and fear from the news. Richie was sure he was sleeping less. More than once Richie came out from his room to find Eddie on the couch, fast asleep but still sitting up, like he’d been waiting. Every time it made Richie feel like someone was squeezing his heart. Once, he tried to pick Eddie up and carry him to bed but he made it about four steps before tripping and both ended up on the floor. After that Richie reluctantly promised to just give Eddie a blanket. 

He wished he could do more for Eddie. He was doing everything he could to keep Richie safe and, most of the time, Richie felt like dead weight. Every time he learned a new move he wondered if he could use this against Jeremy, the ex-love of his life. Jeremy was an awful person, that much was obvious, but every time Richie thought about punching him or putting him in a hold he’d freeze. Richie wasn’t a fighter; he wasn’t someone who leapt into action, he just had to hope that Jeremy would never find them. 

“You seem distracted.” Eddie said, lowering his hands. He’d been teaching Richie how to punch, telling him not to lead with his shoulder since it was a dead giveaway. Richie was getting better; he could at least hit Eddie’s gloves now. In response to Eddie’s question Richie shrugged. 

He didn’t need to say the reason. It was obvious.

His worry translated into distraction while Eddie’s was funneled into over preparing. Eddie had told him all the places he had guns hidden around the house, had even taken him to the shooting range, insisting that Richie had to learn how to protect himself. Richie could hold a gun now, even fire it without hurting himself, but he didn’t think he could use it. 

“Well the finale of dancing with the stars is tonight so-” Richie said, trying to make a joke. It fell flat. Eddie looked up at him, big eyes watching Richie carefully. 

“The finale was last week.” Eddie said, stripping the pads off his hands. “You cried.”

“The little girl with the limp won! I can’t believe you didn’t! You’re just heartless.”

Eddie shook his head, smiling. “Sure. Just because I don’t blubber over someone doing the tango-”

“Cold, heartless, robotic.” 

“Whatever.” Eddie looked down at the training plan he’d put together. It was meticulous, everything planned out, Eddie would check off a box after they’d done the activity. They were only halfway through everything he had planned, and Richie was already exhausted. He understood why he needed to do this but today he couldn’t pretend to care. 

Eddie obviously picked up on it. He looked up at Richie, wiping the sweat off his brow. “Fuck it. Let’s go on a date.”

“Well, Mr. Kaspbrak! Are you feeling okay? Freeing me early from the dungeon of training?”

“Shut up.” Eddie said, closing the training book. “We need to get out of the house.” 

Both had been staying home since they got the news. They hadn't talked about it, but the reason was obvious. The rest of the world was scary now, it was too easy to be spotted and followed. Inside the house was safe, a small protective bubble. Richie told himself that he didn’t mind, he liked their house and being with Eddie, but he knew this wasn’t a long-term solution. 

“Are you sure?” Richie asked, hating how much the thought of being in public scared him. He was already imagining Jeremy hiding behind every tree and mailbox, he didn’t want to be looking over his shoulder all night. 

Eddie nodded. 

“We’ll eat with our backs to the wall. Sit in the back of the theatre.” He stepped closer. “I’ll protect you, Richie, like I promised.” 

Richie wanted to reach for him, to pull Eddie into a hug and be held for a minute. He craved Eddie’s touch- not just in a sexual way. He just wanted to be close to him, in any way he could. He trusted Eddie completely and hearing those words relaxed him. 

“I know.” He inhaled deeply.

“Okay, yea let’s do it. Take me out Ed, woo me.” Richie added dramatically, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead.

“We’re already married.” Eddie mumbled, his cheeks turning pink.

“The wooing doesn’t stop when you’re married, Eds, everyone knows that.” 

Eddie looked up at him, giving Richie a look he knew well. It was his ‘ _ you’re utterly ridiculous and I love it’ _ look. It made Richie’s heart beat loudly thumped in his chest every time he saw it. 

“Fine. I’ll woo you.” Eddie stepped past him. “After you shower.” 

“Rude! It’s my natural musk and it’s sexy!” He called as Eddie went inside. 

Half an hour later they were in Eddie’s car and driving to the movie theatre. Richie was still nervous about the whole thing, but he had to admit he liked the idea of leaving the house. Eddie was right, they were going stir crazy stuck inside. 

“I think we should avoid the creepy ex stalker movie.” Richie said, scrolling through the options on his phone. “And the home invasion one.”

Eddie hummed his agreement, not looking away from the road. It gave Richie a chance to study his profile, the strong jawline that was perfectly contrasted with his big brown eyes. Richie had decided weeks ago that the universe was testing him, putting him so close to someone so perfect. He didn’t want to know what would happen if he failed. 

“Stop staring, weirdo.” Eddie said quietly, eyes still on the road. 

Richie blushed, looking down at his phone again. He felt like an idiot for being caught but then he saw Eddie’s lips curl into a smile. 

“Let’s see the newest superhero flick.” Richie decided. “Watch some men in tight shirts fight bad guys.”

They rolled to a red light and Eddie glanced at him, still smiling. “Is that what does it for you?” 

Richie licked his lips. “Maybe.” 

They exchanged a look that was a little too long to be just friendly. Richie knew they had an attraction, there was something there, simmering below the surface. They’d had too many nights where Eddie slept in Richie’s room, too many evenings where they ended up pressed together on the couch, to deny it. The warning from Mr. Anderson blared in his head but somehow the color of Eddie’s eyes always seemed to quiet it. 

The light changed and Eddie looked forward, the spell broken. Richie couldn’t act on it and he knew that Eddie wouldn’t. They were in lover’s purgatory. Logically, Richie knew that it was the safest place for them but emotionally he wanted Eddie’s lips on his. 

Soon they were in the movie theatre. Richie had insisted on an array of snacks- popcorn, candy, soda- and Eddie was grumbling about ruining his diet. 

“You have, like, an eight-pack dude, relax. A few jujubes won’t kill you.” Richie said, falling into a seat in the back of the mostly empty theatre. 

Eddie glanced at him. “How do you know that?” 

“Uh-” Richie knew because he had seen Eddie coming out of the shower one day, wearing only a towel. And Eddie had looked good. Damn good. Someone very lucky or brave could grate cheese on those fucking abs. 

He’d noticed something else too- a mess of scar tissue on Eddie’s left side. Eddie had told Richie he’d been shot once, right after academy. The perp had gotten away and Eddie had been obsessed with catching him, almost risking his own recovery to bring the man to justice. Eddie had told Richie that he hated the scar, how it looked and how other people looked at it. Richie wished he could tell the other man how everyone else was an idiot, that the scar wasn’t disfiguring it was sexy. 

But of course, he couldn’t say that. Eddie was there to protect him, not for Richie to ogle. 

Richie realized that Eddie was still waiting for an answer.

“You wear tight shirts. I guessed.” He finally said. Eddie regarded him for another minute then seemed to accept it, nodding and tearing open the M&Ms. 

When the previews started Richie was grateful that his dumb mouth couldn’t say anything else. He tried to pay attention to them and not to look over at Eddie. It didn’t do any good to remind himself of what he couldn’t have. This felt too close to the real thing, to a date with Eddie. The other man had paid for the tickets and Richie had bought the snacks. They were supposed to do this, to act like a married couple. It would be so much easier to pretend if Richie didn’t wish it was true. 

As the movie started their hands brushed as both reached for popcorn. Eddie glanced at him and Richie hoped he wasn’t imagining the light blush that appeared on his cheeks as he mumbled ‘sorry’, moving his hand back so Richie could grab the buttered morsels. 

It made Richie wonder, not for the first time, what would happen when this was over. Eddie would be put on a new assignment and Richie- Richie had no idea what he wanted to do. The thought of moving back to California wasn’t appealing, he knew that the state would always remind him of Jeremy. And he didn’t want to stay in Chicago without Eddie. He thought he’d become a sort of nomad, wandering around wherever suited him. 

The movie played on. Richie would lean over and whisper wise cracks in Eddie’s ear, enjoying how he tried to stifle his giggle. Eddie would tell Richie about all the inaccuracies in the fights.

Their hands kept meeting in the popcorn, light touches that both jerked back from. The fourth time it happened Eddie surprised Richie buy grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers. Richie made a quiet, strangled sound and Eddie stared straight ahead as he muttered, “We’re supposed to be married anyway. This will convince people.”

Richie was smart enough not to mention that the other four people in the theatre probably weren’t going to notice. Instead he tried to relax, letting his thumb sweep over the back of Eddie’s hand, enjoying how it felt in his. He barely paid attention to the movie, instead focusing on the moments when he leaned over to whisper his thoughts, letting his lips nearly touch Eddie’s ear and enjoying the giggles that escaped from the other man. It was the best non-date date that Richie had ever been on. 

“I should have known you’d talk through movies.” Eddie commented as they left. They were still holding hands. Eddie didn’t seem to have any plans to let Richie go and he felt the same. 

“It’s not my fault that my jokes are funnier than theirs.”

Eddie looked at him, eyebrow raised. “That’s debatable.” 

“You wound me Frank-accino. Deeply. I don’t think I can go on.” Richie started dragging his feet, pretending to collapse on the sidewalk.

Eddie watched the spectacle with a raised eyebrow then sarcastically asked, “Oh no, how can I ever make amends?”

“A kiss.” Richie spoke without thinking. Eddie stilled, watching him and Richie hurried to add, “I mean, or not. Who wants to kiss their husband? Yuck.”

“Shut up.” Eddie’s voice was smaller now. “I do want to kiss my husband.” 

Richie swallowed as Eddie stepped in, wishing that his breath was something better than popcorn and coke. Eddie leaned in, moving to the side and brushing his lips over Richie’s cheek. It wasn’t what he expected but it still made them both flush. 

“Shit, Frank. Warn a guy.” Richie said as Eddie moved back.

“We’re married, Bill, we’ve kissed before.” Eddie mumbled, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. They didn’t talk again as they walked the few blocks to the restaurant. 

“One hour wait!” Richie groaned, glaring down at the beeper they’d given him. “This should be a crime. Not feeding the poor movie going souls.”

“You just ate a pretzel and two boxes of candy. You’re fine.” Richie whimpered pitifully and Eddie shook his head.

“We can go somewhere else.” Eddie said, pulling out his phone. They’d moved back outside, trying to avoid the crush of the restaurant.

“Here, what about one of these?” He asked, holding a list of options up for Richie to see.

As he did there was a loud bang. It startled Richie but threw Eddie into action. 

“Move!” Eddie grabbed him and pulled them both around a corner and into an alley. Then, from seemingly nowhere, Eddie pulled out a gun, peering around the corner. No one else seemed too concerned but Eddie was clearly on high alert, he’d pushed Richie against the wall, covering him with his body as he scoped the scene. Richie’s heart was pounding and only partially out of fear. Eddie’s hand was on his bicep, curled protectively around him.

“I need to go find out if that was a car backfiring or a gunshot.” Eddie said, letting go of Richie. 

“No!” Richie grabbed him, pulling Eddie back to him. “Are you crazy?”

“It’s my job.” Eddie replied, looking up at him. He looked scared and Richie didn’t want him to leave. He couldn’t let him leave. The thought of Eddie putting himself in danger for Richie was too much. 

“Your job is to protect me, right?” He asked desperately. Eddie nodded. “So, to do that you need to stay with me.”

It wasn’t a real reason, but every part of Richie’s brain was screaming to keep Eddie close, to not let him leave. 

He watched as Eddie debated the words. It took a second but then he nodded. “Fine, I’ll stay.”

Richie let out a long breath, resting his head against the brick wall. Eddie was still looking around, waiting for something to happen. Finally, he relaxed slightly. 

“I think it was a car.” Eddie explained, putting the gun away. 

Richie let his shoulders slump as the adrenaline started to dissipate.

“My heart is pounding.” He said, taking Eddie’s hand and holding it against him. “Can you feel it?” 

Eddie was looking up at him, his palm pressed flat over Richie’s chest. 

“I can.” Eddie looked up at him, his big brown eyes meeting Richie’s green ones and suddenly everything hit him- the fear, the stress, all of it and Richie couldn’t imagine going another minute without kissing Eddie. 

Life was too fucking short. 

He bent down, clashing their lips together. Almost immediately Eddie kissed him back, like he’d been thinking the same thing. Richie’s hands flew to Eddie’s waist, pulling him in until they were pressed together, Eddie’s leg between Richie’s as he opened his mouth, letting their tongues dance together. Richie arched into him, twisting his body so every inch of them was touching but it still didn’t feel close enough. Richie wanted Eddie everywhere, he wanted to be under him with nothing separating them. 

Eddie tasted amazing. Richie couldn’t get enough of how Eddie’s tongue felt as it glided along his, the moans he made. He’d known that Eddie would be a good kisser but still, experiencing the real thing was so much better than dreaming about it in his bed. Richie felt himself growing harder, especially as Eddie’s thigh pressed against him. He wanted the other man but properly, not here in an alley that smelled like old soup. 

“Ed- Frank.” Richie said, breaking the kiss and taking a heaving breath.

Eddie pulled back; his eyes wide with alarm. 

“Shit. I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t even ask. I ruined everything. Fuck, I-” He started to step further back but Richie grabbed him before he could go too far.

“God, is that what it’s like in your head?” Richie teased, not waiting for a reply. “I wasn’t thinking anything like that. I was going to say that we should go back home and save the public sex for our second time.” 

He watched as the words worked their way through Eddie’s head. “Oh.  _ Oh _ . You want to- do that?” 

“Fuck yes.” Carefully Richie pulled him close again, bending down to nuzzle Eddie’s neck. “I’ve wanted this for a long time.” 

“Bill-” The name caught in Eddie’s throat.

“Can we leave, please?” Richie dropped his voice as low as he could. “I want to call out your real name as you fuck me.” 

Eddie visibly shuddered against Richie as he nodded.

“Yea, let’s fucking go.” He took Richie’s hand, placing their beeper on the railing and dragging Richie back to the car.

The car ride was the longest fifteen minutes of Richie’s life. Eddie was laser focused on the road, driving far more aggressively than Richie had seen before- he didn’t want to admit how sexy it was to see him honking at other drivers or swearing at them for going too slow. 

Once they were parked in their driveway both hurried out of the car and inside. Once there Richie started to move back in to kiss him again, but Eddie put up a hand. Richie couldn’t help it as his face fell, assuming that Eddie had come to his senses and changed his mind.

“Are you sure about this? Because if we do this I’ll have to resign. I can’t be assigned to you if we’re involved.” 

“I can’t think of anything I want more than to be involved with you.” 

Eddie’s eyes softened. “Really?” 

“God yes, Eds. I know that this fucks things up for us professionally or whatever, but I also don’t care. I’ll deal with the consequences later. Right now-” He stepped back in, crowding Eddie against the door. “I want to see you naked.” 

Eddie exhaled. “Fuck, I want that too.” 

“Then off to the bedroom we go.” He said, running his nose along the column of Eddie’s neck and earning a soft moan for his efforts. 

But Eddie shook his head once more and Richie growled. “You’re giving me whiplash here, Eds.”

“I need to sweep the house. If I don’t, I’ll be distracted and I really don’t want to be distracted from this.” Eddie kissed along Richie’s jaw as he said it, making him melt. 

Reluctantly Richie stepped back. “Fine, go fucking protect us.” 

Eddie kissed him once more on the cheek before pulling out his gun. The change was startling. Eddie was instantly in predator mode, moving quietly and swiftly through the house. It was damn sexy, watching the man check behind doors and curtains. Eddie disappeared to the rest of the house and Richie tried not to let his mind stray to worst case scenarios. 

He did let out a sigh of relief when Eddie returned, again tucking the gun away.

“We’re clear.” He stayed a step back from Richie, like he still didn’t believe that Richie wanted this. 

For his part Richie stepped in, kissing him again.

“My protector.” He mumbled, untucking Eddie’s shirt and pushing his hands under it. “I always feel so safe with you.” 

Eddie’s hands tentatively went to Richie’s hips, rubbing circles in them as he kissed Richie back.

“Can we move this to a different room?” Eddie asked, his hands going down to cup Richie’s ass. 

He nodded and both started moving down the hall. At the same time both paused, realizing they were heading to their separate bedrooms. 

“Well, that’s fucking ineffective.” Richie said, smiling at him. 

“Do you have lube and condoms?” Eddie asked, standing in his doorframe. He looked ready to pounce. Richie wished he would. 

“Shit. No. Do you?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah, always.”

“Then to Eds’ room we will go.” Richie said, taking two long strides to reach Eddie. Once he did Eddie’s hand went to the back of his head, bringing him down into a deep kiss. Richie let him lead the way and Eddie slowly backed Richie against the bed, breaking the kiss only to pull Richie’s shirt off. 

“Your workouts have helped a lot.” Richie muttered as Eddie ran his hands over his chest, dipping his head to kiss him there. “I was pretty scrawny before.”

“I like both.” Eddie said, making Richie gasp as his mouth latched onto one of his nipples and he sucked gently. 

“Liar.” Richie breathed, making Eddie chuckle against his skin. He threw his head back as Eddie moved to the other nipple, his tongue darting out to lick it until it was a hard nub. When Eddie drew back Richie grabbed his shirt, pulling it off and tossing it into a corner. Then he let his fingers trace Eddie’s abs, staring down at them. “Be honest, how much effort did these take?” 

Eddie’s smile turned into a moan as Richie dipped his hand lower, palming him through his pants. “More than you think.” 

“Totally worth it though. You’re so fucking sexy.” Richie’s hands roamed to the mess of scar tissue on Eddie’s side. The other man flinched at the touch but Richie leaned in, kissing every bit of it. “This too. This is sexy too.”

“It’s not.” Eddie tried to wiggle away but Richie wrapped his arms around Eddie, falling back onto the bed and taking Eddie with him. 

“It really fucking is. It’s proof that you’re stronger than a bullet, and persistent as hell. It’s proof that you’re a survivor.” He said, thumbing at the scar. 

He watched as Eddie swallowed then nodded. “Well, if you say so-”

“I do.” Richie kissed him gently as Eddie’s legs went around his hips, caging him between them. 

“Then I guess I have to believe you.” Eddie said as they continued to kiss, tongues dancing and moving together once more. Richie arched up, rubbing their erections together as he silently cursed how many clothes they still had on. 

“You still want me to top?” Eddie asked, nibbling down Richie’s neck and to his collarbone.

“Fuck yes.” 

Eddie kissed him once more then slid off. Richie watched as he grabbed a condom and lube then returned, standing over Richie and looking down at him fondly. “I didn’t think we’d ever get here.” He said, running a hand down Richie’s thigh and ending on his knee, giving it a loving squeeze. 

“Me either.” 

Eddie’s hand moved back up, unbuttoning his pants and pulling them, and his boxers, off. Richie was exposed and he watched as Eddie’s eyes darkened, taking him in. His hand swept over Richie’s hips, ending tantalizingly close to his erection before moving back.

“I taught you far more holds than I needed to.” Eddie said, taking one of Richie’s legs and pressing his knee to his chest, exposing him even more. Normally he might not like this but with Eddie it felt safe, he trusted the other man completely. “Because I wanted to touch you.” 

Richie shuddered as a lubed finger circled his hole, not quite pressing in.

“I’d like to say that I did worse because I wanted you touching me but really I just suck at-” His breath hitched as Eddie pressed inside him. “it.” 

The other man let out a soft chuckle, kissing his knee as he pushed his finger in more, letting Richie adjust at each knuckle.“I got that. You have the survival skills of a newborn calf.” 

Richie wanted to object but then Eddie was adding another finger, scissoring him open while brushing against his prostate. He keened, pushing against Eddie as he moaned. It had been a long time since he’d had someone else do this and Eddie’s fingers were hitting all the right spots. 

“You’re so loud.” Eddie said, bending down to kiss along his inner thigh. 

“Just expressing my appreciation.” Richie said, letting out another broken moan as Eddie’s fingers swept inside him. He got the feeling that Eddie would happily continue this for hours, drawing it out just to hear him. Maybe another time Richie would like that but now his eyes travelled down, looking at Eddie’s leaking erection. He wanted that in him, wanted to feel Eddie. 

“Eds, don’t make a guy beg.” 

Eddie chuckled, adding a third finger. “I need to make sure you’re ready.” 

“I’ve been ready for months.” He insisted, bearing down on Eddie’s fingers and trying to fuck himself on them. 

“Okay, okay.” Eddie kissed him once more then pulled his fingers out, leaving him feeling empty. Richie watched as he rolled on the condom.

“Do you want to stay like this?” Eddie asked, lining himself up. Richie could feel him just barely pressing in. The pressure was amazing and he pushed back, seeking more. The thought of moving seemed too much to contemplate. He nodded. 

“Just give it to me, man.”

“Okay,  _ dude _ .” Eddie said, again pressing Richie’s legs back so he was nearly bent in half as he pressed in. Richie gasped, grabbing the bedspread. Eddie was thick and Richie felt himself being stretched with every inch. 

Then Eddie paused as he bottomed out, looking down at Richie. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah just-” Richie shifted his hips, moaning quietly as he did. “It’s been a while.” 

Eddie’s thumb rubbed his kneecap for a minute as he reminded himself to breath. “Okay, god, fuck me with that fat dick.”

“That’s- not sexy at all.” Eddie shook his head but he started moving his hips slowly drawing in and out, still letting Richie adjust. Richie could feel it all and he was having a hard time forming sentences, too focused on how Eddie felt inside him. So he gave up talking, just moaning as Eddie moved. 

“I want you closer.” Richie said, looking up at him. He loved seeing Eddie above him, how he looked while fucking Richie, but he also wanted to kiss him. 

“We can do that.” Eddie replied softly, shifting in so Richie could wrap his legs around Eddie’s hips to pull him in even deeper. Both moaned at the new angle and Eddie leaned in, messily kissing Richie. As he started to move again, Eddie rested his forehead on Richie’s, his hands mapping out Richie’s body and eventually landing on his throbbing erection. 

“I’m so close.” Richie said, tilting his head up for another kiss as Eddie started to stroke, lubed hands easily moving over him. “Eds you feel so good, that dick is magic.” 

“So do you, Richie, god I want more I want-” Eddie pulled nearly all the way out, slamming back into him and making both cry out. 

One more swipe of Eddie’s thumb over his head and Richie was done for. He came, hard, thrusting up and spilling over his and Eddie’s stomachs. Eddie paused while he caught his breath, starting to pull out.

“Don’t- I want you to finish.” Richie said, wrapping his legs tighter. 

“Are you sure?” Richie could tell he was close, Eddie was sweaty, his skin flushed a beautiful pink. 

“Hell yes.”

Eddie leaned back again and resumed thrusting, his hands on Richie’s hips as he chased his own orgasm. His thrusts became shallower and faster and Richie watched as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Then Eddie bit his lip, his fingers digging into Richie’s hips as he came, his wordless orgasm sweeping over him. Richie had never seen anything so damn sexy. 

Eddie’s eyes opened and immediately settled on Richie’s face as he bent down, kissing him again and again. Richie kissed him back, still craving the closeness and intimacy. 

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” Eddie said as they broke apart. 

He nodded, letting Eddie lead him to the bathroom and draw a bath that they both settled into. Eddie insisted that Richie lean against him as they soaked, his hands roaming over Richie’s with a washcloth. It was the most relaxed that Richie had been in months. He felt safe, protected by Eddie’s legs that wrapped around him and his lips that left gentle kisses. 

“I need to resign.” Eddie whispered into Richie’s ear, kissing his neck. “I can’t be your agent and your boyfriend.”

“Who said anything about boyfriend? I was thinking fuck buddy.” Richie joked, turning around to kiss Eddie, who frowned at him. “I’m kidding. I know. I know. I know that this changes everything but-” He paused. “I’m hoping for the better?” 

He hoped Eddie didn’t regret it, didn’t wish they hadn’t crossed that line. 

“I think so.” Eddie kissed him once more and the stress drained from Richie. He leaned back, nearly lulled into sleep as Eddie continued to clean him. 

Until his stomach rumbled, loudly, reminding him that they missed dinner. Eddie chuckled. “I’m hungry too. I’ll go get us some food, you can stay here.”

“You take such good care of me.” Richie said, leaning forward as Eddie crawled out. It took a lot of self control not to pull the other man in again. Richie’s hands grabbed for Eddie as he dressed, nearly pulling him back at least four times. 

“I’ll be back before you know it.” Eddie promised, kissing him once more before going to the door. 

“Good.” Richie watched him leave before letting his head roll back and eyes close. 

He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he heard was shuffling in the kitchen. Assuming that Eddie was back he rose, tying a towel around his hips as he ventured out.

“I’m not getting dressed because I’m hoping for round two.” He called as he entered the dining room. 

“Round two huh? Already whoring yourself out?” A familiar voice called. Richie stopped as his stomach dropped, trying to convince himself that it wasn’t, that it couldn’t be, but then he was standing in front of Richie, wearing the same smile that Richie used to love. 

Jeremy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know some people really hate top!Eddie and bottom!Richie. I am not one of them. If you are please don't tell me about it in the comments.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What are you going to do?” Richie demanded, his eyes following Jeremy. “Murder me? Make it look like an accident? Feed me to the fishes?”
> 
> Jeremy pulled a dining room chair over, sitting on it backwards and across from him. “That was the plan. One bullet, one body hidden.” He looked Richie over. “You’re so scrawny it would have been easy. But now I have a much better idea. I think it’d be more fun if we made it look like that tiny agent of yours did it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chap- there's guns and some blood. Just in case either makes anyone super uncomfortable

The first thing Richie did was turn and run. Maybe not the most valiant option but he wasn’t an idiot. Eddie had drilled it into him that the first thing to do in a fight was try to avoid the fight. So he turned and ran-

Right into one of Jeremy’s enforcers. 

“Fuck!” The man grabbed him, painfully forcing Richie’s arms behind his back and leading him back to Jeremy, who was now grinning.

“That was cute.” Jeremy walked towards him then stopped, openly inspecting Richie. His fingers curled around Richie’s chin as he said, “Don’t try it again.” 

“Fuck you.” Richie spat, trying to swallow his fear. His heart was pounding in his ears as adrenaline coursed through him. He was terrified but also alert. Eddie had taught him to work through fear, to look for an advantage, but right now Richie didn’t see any. 

Jeremy just laughed. “You’ll never be lucky enough for that again.” He shoved Richie’s chin to the side as he stepped back then began walking around the house, touching their things. Even if it wasn’t actually Richie’s stuff, he hated seeing Jeremy touch it, especially when his hand ghosted over his fake wedding photos. 

“This is cute. Domestic. I never expected you to want that.” 

“You don’t know shit about me.” Richie said, struggling uselessly against the hold. 

Jeremy picked up the photo and threw it on the ground, the glass shattering loudly. “Baby, I know you better than you know yourself.” He looked at the other man and gestured with his gun. “Put him on the couch.” 

The man flung Richie down then took a step back, close enough to still be menacing but out of Richie’s reach. He could feel sweat pooling in the small of his back and somewhere in the back of his mind he thought about how Eddie hated when he sat on the couch without a shirt. The thought almost made him laugh. 

“What are you going to do?” Richie demanded, his eyes following Jeremy. “Murder me? Make it look like an accident? Feed me to the fishes?”

Jeremy pulled a dining room chair over, sitting on it backwards and across from him. “That was the plan. One bullet, one body hidden.” He looked Richie over. “You’re so scrawny it would have been easy. But now I have a much better idea. I think it’d be more fun if we made it look like that tiny agent of yours did it.”

Richie’s eyes widened. He tried to control it but he knew that Jeremy saw it. The other man leaned in, his rancid breath hitting Richie’s cheek. “Doesn’t that sound fun? Your little fuck buddy will go to jail for you and you’ll be where you should be- six feet under. It’ll be so easy.” He laughed, cruel and high and Richie struggled not to panic. He couldn’t let that happen, couldn’t let Eddie go to jail for something he didn’t do. 

“Someone will figure it out. You’re supposed to be under house arrest.” He said, trying to buy time. For what, he wasn’t sure. It would be a while until Eddie came back and Richie was next to useless, especially with a gun pointed at him. The only saving grace was that there seemed to only be two of them. Richie watched as Jeremy gestured with the gun, holding it loosely. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could grab it. Maybe. 

Jeremy smiled, his lips curling up. “Oh, don’t worry about that. As far as anyone knows, I’m still there. Someone else was nice enough to hold my place. Sometimes it pays to have friends in high places.”

Richie’s jaw tightened. Of course some lachey was there, pacing around in Jeremy’s place. No one would even notice he was gone. Richie would be dead and it would look like Jeremy had nothing to do with it. 

“You know me, Richie. I’ve always been a planner. I’ve thought of everything. How to find you, how long to wait, where to dump your body.” He said it like he was listing off side dishes for a picnic and Richie knew that he had enjoyed this hunt, this cat and mouse game. Richie wondered if he’d ever been safe or if Jeremy had known from the start.

He continued, “The only thing I didn’t expect was this little romance of yours that popped up. But that’s okay. I love surprises.” Jeremy leaned in, moving a lock of Richie’s hair out of his eyes. “You remember that, right? Remember how happy I was when I came home to your little surprises? You tied up in bed? You spread out for me? I loved seeing you like that. Does he like it, too? This new fascination of yours? Does he know what a perfect little slut you are?” 

Richie jerked back. “Don’t fucking touch me.” He knew Jeremy was trying to throw him off and hated that it was working. He didn’t want to think about that, about the things he’d done with this man. Disgust curled in his stomach, remembering all the things that Richie had reluctantly agreed to do to keep him happy. He’d thought he was being a good boyfriend but now he realized he was just trying to keep the other man happy so he would stay. It wasn’t a give and take, it was only take. 

“Why’d you even date me?” He asked. It was a genuine question. One he’d asked himself a million times since everything had gone down. 

Jeremy's eyes settled on him and for a second, Richie saw the man he’d been in love with. The man who made him laugh, who made pancakes with him. He remembered the good times they’d had, how they’d gotten each other through the bad. 

“I liked you, Richie. You were never boring, you made me laugh.” 

“But?”

Jeremy’s mask slipped back on. “But the job comes first. Stand up.” 

“So you can murder me?” 

“Exactly.” 

As Richie started to stand, his mind working at a million miles an hour, two things happened simultaneously. The first was the front door opening and someone stepping through. Richie head whipped over to see Eddie, holding two huge bags of take out and whistling happily. Richie’s heart clenched and he wished he could have warned Eddie, done anything to stop him from entering the house. 

The second was that Richie lunged for Jeremy’s gun. He knew it was now or never and he refused to die without at least trying to save himself and Eddie. 

“Eds Run!” He screamed as he dove onto Jeremy. He didn’t try any of the holds he’d learned, any fancy techniques. He simply leapt onto the other man, both of them falling to the floor as the gun flew to the side of the room.

In that same second he heard Eddie scream, “Richie!” He had only seconds before he ducked into the kitchen as the other man opened fire, shattering the fancy wedding plates they’d set up on the wall.

“What the fuck!” Jeremy screamed, trying to push Richie off him. But he’d learned a few things. One of them was a good right hook. He drew back, making a fist and hitting Jeremy square in the jaw. It didn’t knock him out like Richie had hoped but it did daze him. Richie took the chance to scramble off him and lunge for the gun. 

“No you don’t.” Jeremy’s hand wrapped around Richie’s ankle, pulling him off his balance. Behind him, Richie heard gunshots but he couldn’t process what it could mean. He needed to get the gun. No distractions. 

“Nice fucking try.” Jeremy said, dragging Richie back and crawling onto him. He grinned down wickedly then slammed a fist into Richie’s face. Richie heard something crack. “But you aren’t going anywhere, Richie.” Another blow. “This is how you die.” If he had any doubts before, this cleared them up. Jeremy meant to kill him, anything they had before was gone now. There was no way they were both walking out of here. 

“That’s what you think.” Richie said, spitting blood into Jeremy’s eyes. It distracted him enough for Richie to use one of the moves that Eddie had taught him, thrusting his thighs up and knocking Jeremy off him. Once Jeremy was off, Richie went for the gun again. This time he grabbed it and rolled on his back, pointing it at Jeremy, who was standing above him. With some pride, Richie noticed that he had a bruise forming on his chin. Richie knew he looked worse, his face was throbbing, but at least he’d done some damage. 

Jeremy laughed. “You think you’ll actually shoot me? You don’t have the balls.”

Richie's eyes flicked behind Jeremy. He saw Eddie’s head poke out as he shot at the enforcer again. Both of them had taken cover, shouting at each other. But what caught Richie’s eye was Eddie’s shoulder. There was blood pouring out of it, his shirt was soaked and Richie was sure it hurt but he was still focused, never taking his eyes off the other man. Richie knew what he had to do. 

“I never liked your fucking pancakes.” He said as he pulled the trigger. 

His shot wasn’t perfect but it did the trick. It hit Jeremy in the hip, ripping through his shirt then skin. The man went down, screaming in pain and Richie struggled to his feet, ready to shoot the other man. But he was already down, laying in a pool of his own blood. 

“Richie!” Eddie ran to him, holding his shoulder with one hand, his eyes already scanning Richie and assessing him. “Fuck, are you okay?”

Richie looked down at Jeremy. He was holding his side, writhing in pain. 

“I’m about to be.” He raised the gun again, thinking about everything that Jeremy had taken from him. His job, his apartment, his whole goddamn life. 

“Stop!” Eddie put his hand over Richie’s, lowering the gun. “Richie, we can’t.”

“Why not? He’s scum.” Richie’s throbbing face was a clear reminder of that. 

“You’re right but he’s scum that needs to go to jail. He deserves to rot there.” Eddie’s hand squeezed Richie’s, trying to talk him down. His voice was a counter to everything else that was happening. He stayed calm and collected amidst the chaos. Richie could feel himself trying to match Eddie’s breathing as his heart continued to hammer in his chest. 

“Yea, Richie, listen to your fuck boy.” Jeremy spat, glaring up at them.

Eddie looked at him, shaking his head. “You really are an idiot. I’m trying to save your life.”

“Like I care. Richie is weak, he would never shoot me anyway. Look at him, useless noodles arms and-”

Jeremy stopped talking as Eddie stepped in and punched him. Unlike Richie’s, it had enough force to knock him out. 

“He talks too much.” Eddie said, watching Jeremy for a few more beats before turning to Richie. “Are you okay?” He asked again.

Richie looked around their living room. Everything was broken and there was blood spattered on the floor. His face and hand hurt. His eyes landed on the gun that he was still holding and he realized how heavy it was and what he’d nearly done. Richie raised his eyes, looking at Eddie. The other man looked like shit, he was still bleeding but he was focused solely on Richie. 

Richie shook his head, suddenly exhausted. “No, no I don’t think so.”

“Okay.” Carefully, Eddie reached in, plucking the gun from Richie’s hands and taking out the clip. Then Eddie led him away from the living room and back to the bedroom. 

“Richie, can you get dressed while I call someone to handle this?” Eddie asked. Another time Richie may have resented this, being treated with kid gloves, but right now he was in shock. He needed someone to tell him what to do. He’d forgotten that he was still in a towel and he spared a thought to be impressed it was still on. 

Eddie moved towards the door and Richie reached out, his hand grabbing Eddie’s wrist. Immediately, Eddie turned back to him. “What is it? What’s wrong?” 

“I don’t-” Richie swallowed, trying not to cry. Not now. “I don’t want you to leave.” 

Eddie moved in, hugging Richie tightly with one arm. Richie threw his arms around Eddie, forgetting about his shoulder until Eddie let out a yip of pain.

“Shit!” Richie drew back. “You’re hurt! Let me help you- what should I do?”

“I’m fine.” Eddie shook his head. For the first time, Richie saw how pale he was. “Totally fine.”

Then Eddie passed out. 

\------------------

The next few hours were a blur. Richie vaguely remembered grabbing Eddie’s cell and calling the emergency contact. He knew enough to call them first and not 911. Soon, men with guns and stern expressions were rushing into the house, cuffing Jeremy and leading him away, taking pictures of the scene and, most importantly, loading Eddie onto a stretcher. Richie tried to follow but he was stopped, told that because he wasn’t family he couldn’t go with.

“We’re technically married!” He shouted after the stretcher, trying to worm his way around the men holding him. “Look at the mailbox! It says Mr. and Mr. you fuckers!”

“Richie.” Mr. Anderson stepped into view, looking far too put together for the chaos of the scene. “We need to talk.” He looked Richie over. “After you get dressed.”

He looked down. In all the commotion Richie had forgotten that he was still in the towel. “When can I see Eddie?” He didn’t care how he looked. He only cared about Eddie. His breathing had been shallow. Richie didn’t know anything about first aid except to try to stop the bleeding. His hands were red with Eddie’s blood. He wiped them on the ruined towel. 

“Once he’s out of surgery. Go change.” The tone in his voice didn’t invite a discussion so Richie listened, going to the room and throwing on clothes, numbly washing his face and hands. He was so tired now but his brain was still wired, worried about Eddie and not ready to believe that it was really over. 

Once he felt slightly more human, he went back out and found Mr. Anderson sitting outside, smoking a cigarette.

“That’s Eddie's chair.” Richie mumbled, grabbing the second patio chair and pulling it over. 

Mr. Anderson ignored him. “Do you want to tell me what happened tonight?” 

“Jeremy showed up. Eddie got shot. I shot him.” He had already explained this four or five times. Everything was already blurring together. Even now, only a few hours later, he wasn’t sure exactly what Jeremy had said, only the fear. 

“Why were you naked?” 

“I had a towel.” 

A head shake. “You know what I mean.” 

Richie raised his eyes to meet Mr. Anderson’s. He knew what the question implied and took a minute before he answered. He didn’t want to get Eddie into trouble but he wasn’t sure if Eddie would want him to lie. 

“I sleep naked.” Close enough to the truth. Eddie could admit what he wanted, Richie wasn’t going to rat him out. 

Mr. Anderson clearly didn’t believe him but he nodded. “Fine. Tell me what happened from the beginning.” 

“Then can I see Eddie?” He sounded like a broken record but he didn’t care. He couldn’t let that be the last thing he’d said to him. Eddie deserved better. 

The man eyed him then nodded slowly. “I’ll take you to the hospital myself.”

Richie breathed a sigh of relief, explaining as best he could. Anderson listened, asking one or two questions. 

“And you didn’t call the police?” He asked as Richie finished. 

Richie shook his head. “I called you first.” 

“Good.” Mr. Anderson put out his cigarette and stood. “Come on, I’ll take you to Eddie.” 

He breathed a sigh of relief, grabbing his shoes and phone and following Mr. Anderson out of the house. The men were still photographing and Richie had no idea what it would look like once he returned- would everything be the same or would it be cleaned out? Would he even come back? 

“What happens now?” He asked, climbing into a black sedan. “To me and Eddie? Can I go home?” He wasn’t even sure where home was anymore- it wasn’t that small, bland house he’d just left but it wasn’t California either. He decided it was wherever Eddie was. 

Richie heard the locks click and Mr. Anderson turned to look at him, his eyes suddenly harsh. “You really are an idiot. Richie, you’re never going home. The only place you’re going is the bottom of a lake.”

Everything went black. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dunnnnn  
I mean, I couldn't make it too easy, right?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He saw Mr. Anderson glanced back at him in the mirror, brows furrowed in annoyance. “Don’t give me some fucking speech. I’m long past caring. After this I’ll disappear, no one will ever hear from me again. One dead comedian and I’m set for fucking life.”
> 
> Richie’s mouth went dry. He wasn’t surprised to hear it but still, the coldness in Anderson’s voice brought his situation into sharp focus. His chances of getting out of this alive were slim. He wished he’d called someone else, that he had questioned why Anderson insisted on driving him. But no, he’d been too focused on getting back to Eddie. 
> 
> His gaze rolled to the window. It was pitch black out. Wherever they were, it was far enough out that he couldn’t see any houses, only stars. It had been a long time since he’d seen stars. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for guns, blood and gunshot wounds (its not worse than chap 4 but still, a warning)

When Richie woke up he was in the back of the sedan, his hands tied behind his back. He tried to lift his head but was only met with searing pain. It radiated out, nearly knocking the wind out of him. 

“Shit.” He muttered, letting it fall back against the leather seat. 

“Good, you’re awake. I’d hate to kill you while you’re asleep. There’s no sport in it.” Mr. Anderson said, not turning his head as he continued to drive.

“Where are we going?” Richie asked. His head felt like someone had stuffed it with cotton. Everything felt fuzzy, confused but he remembered that he was in danger, that no one else knew where he was. The weight of the situation settled over him. This was bad, really bad. Especially since he couldn’t even see straight. 

“A nice lake about an hour out of the city. You’ll have a great final view.” His tone was conversational. They could have been discussing the weather or a baseball game for all Anderson seemed to care. 

Richie squeezed his eyes shut, begging the cloudiness to go away. He needed to be able to think straight if he had any chance of getting out of this alive. “Why? Why are you doing this?” It didn’t really matter but as long as Anderson was talking he was distracted, maybe Richie could use that. 

The man chuckled, his voice cold. “Do you want some sob story about how my whole family died or a kidnapped kid? Because I don’t have that shit. I did it for money, like everyone else. The bureau doesn’t pay for shit and I got sick of driving a prius. That’s it.”

Disgust rolled over Richie. “You bastard. You betrayed everyone for money.” He forced himself to sit up, his head screaming in protest over the action. “Eddie trusted you! All of them did!” 

He saw Mr. Anderson glanced back at him in the mirror, brows furrowed in annoyance. “Don’t give me some fucking speech. I’m long past caring. After this I’ll disappear, no one will ever hear from me again. One dead comedian and I’m set for fucking life.”

Richie’s mouth went dry. He wasn’t surprised to hear it but still, the coldness in Anderson’s voice brought his situation into sharp focus. His chances of getting out of this alive were slim. He wished he’d called someone else, that he had questioned why Anderson insisted on driving him. But no, he’d been too focused on getting back to Eddie. 

His gaze rolled to the window. It was pitch black out. Wherever they were, it was far enough out that he couldn’t see any houses, only stars. It had been a long time since he’d seen stars. 

Richie counted to ten, giving himself that long to panic before he forced himself to act. The panic reared in his chest, trying to claim him but Richie wouldn’t let it. He may still die but he refused to do it without a fight. 

Trying to stay quiet he scooted closer to the door. He knew he only had one shot- and that it was going to hurt like fuck. He couldn’t use his hands to brace himself and the car was going speeding down the road.

Thinking about it wasn’t going to help.  _ You aren’t getting me to a secondary location you fuck. _ Gritting his teeth Richie swung his hands and unlocked the door. Opening it was a little harder but he did it, throwing himself out of the car as soon as it was opened.

He saw Anderson realize what was happening a second too late. Richie was already flying out, hitting the ground with a rough bump, bouncing once, twice, before he tumbled down the ditch swearing the whole time. It hurt, his shoulders and hips seemed to take most of the damage but he could feel blood running down his forehead, threatening his vision. 

Once he stopped moving he tried to listen for the sound of the car. He didn’t hear anything, which either meant the man had continued driving (unlikely) or that he had parked and was getting out (way too fucking likely). Either way he couldn’t stay here, no matter how much his body begged him to. 

Groaning with effort Richie forced himself to stand. Since he couldn’t use his hands it wasn’t pretty, but eventually he managed. Thankfully, nothing seemed to be broken. He was bruised and bleeding but he could walk.

Squinting, he looked ahead. His glasses had come off during his heroic leap out of the car and everything was fuzzy. Still, it wasn’t hard to see that he was in the middle of nowhere. In front of him was a thick forest, with no people in sight. 

Then Richie started to run, going as fast as he could without tripping.

“You know Richie!” He heard less than a minute later and far too close for comfort. “I was going to make it quick, shoot you in the head and be done. But now, now you’re making me ruin my suit! Now, this won’t be quick.”

He didn’t dare stop to look back to find out exactly how close Anderson was. As long as he wasn’t shooting at Richie it didn’t matter. The only thing Richie let himself think about was not falling and finding somewhere to hide. The woods were thick and it was pitch black. Branches hit his face and arms, leaving tiny scraps and bruises. He was exhausted, everything hurt, but he didn’t stop. 

Behind him, he could hear Mr. Anderson crashing through the trees, taunting him. “I’m going to finish you and then go to the hospital and find Eddie. I hope he’s conscious. I want him awake when I tell him what I did to you, I want him to hear how you died, scared and alone. Then I’ll end him too. We wanted to frame him but after this- it's too dangerous. Both of you need to go.” 

Richie wanted to scream back, to tell him to leave Eddie alone, that Eddie didn’t deserve this, but knew Anderson was only saying it to get him to talk. So, for once in his life, Richie stayed quiet, even as the man went into great detail about how he would kill Eddie, smothering him with a pillow or forcing pills down his throat. It made Richie’s stomach churn, how easy it was for a man Eddie had trusted to talk about murdering him. 

He had no idea how long he ran for. His lungs burned and his head hurt but he didn’t stop. He was deep in the woods now, still no sight of another human. He didn’t know how long he could go on. His head was demanding he rest and vaguely he wondered if he had a concussion. Anderson was still talking, distracting Richie. It was getting harder to think and he knew soon he would trip. If he fell it would be over. Anderson would surely hear him and Richie would be done for. Those thoughts were the only thing that kept him going. 

He was near collapse when he finally found a place to hide. It was a small cave, barely big enough for him to squeeze into. But he couldn’t run anymore. He was going to pass out if he kept trying. 

So Richie threw himself onto the ground, biting his tongue to keep from crying out as the impact made stars dance over his vision. He wished he had his arms, everything was ten times harder without them, but he managed, doing a strange, inelegant wiggle down into the cave. Hopefully being low to the ground and hidden in the darkness would be enough for Anderson to walk right past him. 

“Richie, come out. One shot and it’s over.” He heard Mr. Anderson call, closer than Richie had expected. Richie held his breath, cursing his heart for beating so loudly, and a second later Mr. Anderson’s wing tipped shoes came into view, less than a foot away from his hiding spot. “One shot and you won’t be in pain. I saw the blood. I know what that means.” 

Anderson stopped, listening for any sound, and Richie waited, praying that he didn’t look down. After five, ten, seconds he kept walking, still calling for Richie. Richie waited another ten seconds then exhaled, air rushing back into his lungs. He could hear Anderson getting further away and suddenly exhaustion overcame him. Every bump and bruise seemed to call to him, telling him to close his eyes and sleep. Richie fought it, knowing that he couldn’t, that sleep wasn’t safe, but his body insisted. Richie felt his eyes growing heavier, the adrenaline was wearing off and he knew he couldn’t stay awake for much longer. 

Then he heard another voice. A welcome one. 

“Richie?! Richie! You better not have hurt him you bastard.” It was Eddie’s voice, further than Anderson but still close. Richie raised his head, his spirits instantly higher just from hearing Eddie, from knowing he was alive. 

“Mr. Anderson, we have you surrounded.” Another voice called. “Drop your weapon and put your hands behind your head.”

Richie knew that wasn’t going to happen. He didn’t want to see Eddie get hurt again but didn’t know what to do. He was still useless like this - except.

“Eddie! I’m here. So is he!” He screamed from his hiding spot. “Hurry!” 

It probably went against every tactic in the book but Richie didn’t want the man to get away. 

“We’re coming!” Eddie shouted. “Don’t move Richie!” 

The voices kept talking, getting closer to Richie. Relief ran through him, some hope that this might be over.

Then the wing tipped shoes came into view. Richie tried to hold his breath again but it was no use. This time Anderson ducked down, his horrible grinning face filling Richie’s view. 

“Found you.” He said, reaching down and yanking Richie out by his arm. He couldn’t do much of anything to stop him. The man was stronger than he looked. 

“You have caused me way too much fucking trouble.” The other man grumbled, pulling him into a standing position. 

“Good.” Richie tried to glare at him but as he did flashlights shone on them and he was temporarily blinded.

“Let him go. It’s over.” He heard Eddie say. His tone was one Richie had never heard, cold and professional, like he was trying to stay removed from the situation. 

Richie forced himself to open his eyes, blinking against the harsh lights. Nearly a dozen agents surrounded them, all of them with guns trained on the two of them. As much as he wanted to be relieved that they’d found him he couldn’t be. Anderson had pushed Richie in front of him, using Richie as a human shield. Then Richie felt the cold barrel of a gun press to his temple, indenting his skin. He gave himself a second to be proud that he didn’t piss himself, not yet at least.

“Don’t come any closer or I’ll shoot him.” Anderson growled, painfully pulling on Richie’s arms. 

Richie’s eyes finally adjusted and he could see Eddie. One of his arms was in a sling, a gun in the other. He met Richie’s eyes, looking worried. “Are you okay?” Eddie asked, the previous tone disappearing. Now he sounded like the Eddie Richie knew, worried about him, protective. 

“No- not really.” He grunted as Anderson pulled on him again. “He’s in on it. He was working with Jeremy the whole time!” It was probably obvious but if Richie was going to die he needed to make sure they knew. 

“Shut up.” Mr. Anderson growled, taking a step back. 

“Don’t move Anderson.” One of the men shouted, all of them advancing in. 

“I’ll kill him.” Anderson repeated. “Let us leave and I’ll leave him somewhere safe. Otherwise he dies here.” 

“You fucking liar.” Richie spat. “You’ll shoot me the second we’re out of their view.” 

Richie felt something in his shoulder rip as Anderson pulled on him again, his mouth next to Richie’s ear. “I already told you. Shut up! Why don’t you ever shut up!” Hot spit splattered over Richie’s cheek and he winced, both from the pain and from the other man’s proximity. 

“I’ve never been a meatshield before. Guess I missed the memo.” He growled back. He wasn’t even scared anymore. He’d moved on to acceptance. There was no way Anderson was going to let him go, no way out of this, but it didn’t mean he had to make it easy. 

“Richie-” In that one word he heard the fear and panic. And something like an apology. Richie’s heart sank. 

He shook his head, meeting Eddie’s eyes as best he could. “Don’t come closer, Eds. Stay safe. Fuck, I’ve caused you nothing but trouble.” Richie sagged against Anderson, biting back tears. He’d gotten Eddie hurt, cost him his job. All of it was Richie’s fault. If he was going to die he at least wanted to know that Eddie was safe. 

“Self pity looks terrible on you.” Anderson said, pulling on him again and drawing a whimper from Richie. Everything hurt. He was exhausted. He wanted this to be over. 

“Richie I’m sorry.” Eddie said, stepping forward. Anderson started screaming for him not to get closer but Richie ignored him and focused on Eddie. He wanted to tell the other man that it was fine, that he understood, but before he could there was a searing pain in his shoulder and then, for the second time that day, everything went black.

\-------------

Richie woke with a start, trying to sit up only to find that he couldn’t. He was attached to too many tubes and needles, all of them tangling as he moved. Panic rose in his chest. He needed to get out, get away, this place wasn’t safe. Now they were drugging him- He started to rip them out.

“Richie no!” Eddie appeared, his hand covering Richie’s, stilling his fingers. “Stop! You’re in a hospital.”

Seeing Eddie made the fear subside. He was still in a sling and there was a big bruise on his neck but otherwise he looked okay. Richie breathed a huge sigh of relief then looked around. He was in the hospital room, to his right machines beeped and printed read outs. On the left was a chair, a rumpled jacket next to it. 

“What- where-” He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to recall the last thing he remembered. Then he tried to raise his arm, only to find that it was in a cast, strapped to his side. “What the fuck happened?” He asked, giving up on remembering himself. 

Still holding his hand Eddie explained. “I shot you. We were in the woods and I- I shot you. I had to. I couldn’t let Anderson take you away again. I couldn’t. So I shot your shoulder to hit him. It’s a superficial wound. You passed out.” Eddie’s voice was monotone, like he was reading a report. He wouldn’t look Richie in the eye. 

“Is he-”

“He lived. The fucker.” Eddie drew a deep breath. “He’s chained to his bed in another room, refusing to say anything. It doesn’t matter though. We’ve got him. Jeremy sang like a bird, ratted him out to save himself. We got it all on tape.” Eddie sounded relieved and Richie understood why, everything had worked out. Not how they planned but that felt minor. Anderson would be going to jail. Jeremy was caught. Eddie was still breathing and, amazingly, so was Richie. It all felt too good to be true. He let it sink in, sitting quietly for a minute and looking at Eddie’s hand over his.

“Why can I see you?” Richie asked confused.

Eddie frowned at him then shook his head. “I grabbed your spare glasses. Our house is a crime scene but I knew you’d get a headache without them so I pulled some strings.” 

It was a small gesture but it meant something big, something Richie couldn’t quite put into words. Then he remembered something else. He hadn’t heard about how Eddie’s talk with his bosses went. It wasn’t the most important thing that had happened in the last twenty four hours but he needed to know. “Eds,” Richie asked and Eddie’s eyes snapped up, full of concern. “How did the bureau take it? You and me?”

Eddie looked surprised for a split second, like he’d expected Richie to say something else, then shook his head. “Not great. They were looking into reassigning me when all this happened.”

“Fuck.” Another thing Richie had ruined. Next to him Eddie looked like he was about to crumble. 

“What’s wrong?” Richie rose a hand to Eddie’s face, cupping it gently. He longed to hold him, to pull Eddie next to him into the bed, but something told him that Eddie wouldn’t want that. “The good guys won.”

To his shock Eddie started to cry, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I was supposed to protect you. I left you and all this happened. Jeremy, the one person I was supposed to keep away from you, got you. He hurt you. Then I went to the hospital and when I woke up they said you were gone.” Eddie’s voice, which had been emotionless before, wavered. He paused, wiping the tears away with his good arm. “Fuck. This is my fault. I didn’t do my job. I fucked up and you got hurt.” 

Richie shook his head. “No dude, this was all my fault. I brought all this shit into your life. None of this was your fault, I only fucking survived because of what you taught me. I’d be dead without you.” He needed Eddie to know, to understand that Richie was the problem here, not Eddie. 

“Richie-” Like in the woods Eddie’s voice was pained, like it hurt to say his name. But now there wasn’t the same fear. Instead there was something else, something worse. Richie didn’t want to hear the rest of the sentence. 

“You saved my life, like, a dozen times.” Richie continued. “You probably deserve a medal. Not just for teaching me but for like, putting up with me and shit.” He dropped his head and he inhaled slowly. He’d meant what he said before, he wanted to be with Eddie so much that it hurt. But he had no idea if Eddie still felt like that after everything that he just happened. He wouldn’t blame Eddie if he didn’t. Richie was a lot, everyone had always said it and no one else had been forced to take a bullet for him. 

“I liked putting up with you.” Eddie said quietly. Richie raised his eyes to meet Eddie’s, seeing the sincerity there.

“You can leave Eds. It’s okay. I mean I - my last boyfriend was in the fucking mob so any other break up will pale in comparison.” He had to say it even though it hurt. The idea of not seeing Eddie every day, not waking up next to him, it physically hurt, but he couldn’t make Eddie stay. The assignment was over, whatever they had, Eddie wasn’t obligated to be with him anymore. 

Eddie shook his head again. “You dumbass.” Richie frowned, about to protest but Eddie was still talking. “I was trying to give you an out. I thought you wouldn’t want to be with some insane agent who shot you.”

“I thought you wouldn’t want to be with some dorky comedian who got you shot.”

They smiled at each other and Eddie squeezed his hand. “We’re both idiots.” 

“But we’re each other’s idiots?” Richie posed it as a question, needing to hear Eddie say it. He wanted to know that Eddie really wanted this, wanted him.

“You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.” Eddie said, leaning in and kissing Richie’s temple. Richie tiled his face up, capturing Eddie’s lips in a light kiss. 

“How long am I in here, doc?” Richie asked as they broke apart, Eddie’s forehead resting on his. 

Eddie shrugged. “No idea. They won’t tell me anything because I’m not family. Apparently being your fake husband isn’t enough.”

“Bastards.” 

Almost on cue a nurse wandered in, grabbing Richie’s chart and flipping through it. “You’ve been through a lot, Mr. Tozier.” The nurse commented. 

“You have no idea man.” Richie didn’t know how much she knew or how much he could say so he opted to keep quiet. “How long am I stuck here?” 

The nurse tutted. “At least overnight, we need to observe you.” She glanced at Eddie. “And you should get some sleep. You’ve been here for over twenty four hours.”

Richie glanced at Eddie who shrugged, embarrassed. “I didn’t want you to wake up alone.” 

Again, Richie was filled with something bigger than him, some emotion that he wasn’t quite ready to name. 

Instead he turned to the nurse, saluting her. “Aye aye captain. Anything to get home.” Wherever that was now. 

The nurse gave him some pills for the pain then left. Richie looked at Eddie, noticing for the first time how exhausted he looked. “You should go get some sleep. I’ll be fine.” 

Eddie shook his head firmly. “Whenever I leave you get attacked. It’s a terrible track record.”

Richie knew he should argue but he wanted Eddie to stay. After everything Eddie felt like the only stable thing in his life. “You gonna sleep in that shitty chair?”

Eddie glanced at it and shrugged. “I’ve slept on worse.”

“No way.” Richie moved over, making room in his bed. “Sleep here. Our busted arms are on opposite sides. It’s almost romantic.” 

“Richie-” Again. A different tone. This one had more hope, maybe a little yearning if he wasn’t reading too much into it. 

“Just climb in. That shit the nurse gave me was strong and I want to be in prime cuddling position before I fall asleep.” 

Eddie’s mouth worked and Richie braced for rejection. Instead Eddie said, “Move over more, I’m not that fucking small.” 

He was more than happy to. 

6 months later

“So my boyfriend works for the witness protection program. Yea, his whole job is to protect people’s identities. Sorta makes the regular ‘google this guy and figure out if he’s legit’ thing impossible.” Richie paused to let the crowd laugh. It felt amazing to be back on the stage, even if it was for a smaller audience. Starting comedy over on the east coast wasn’t easy but he was determined. 

“We met when he was assigned to protect me. He taught me how to put people in a sleeper hold. Romantic right? It was a real Hallmark movie moment. I looked up from this guy’s arm pit and saw an angel. I’m sure it wasn’t the lack of air.” 

Once Richie had been released from the hospital he and Eddie had had a serious talk about what happened next. Normally Richie hated those types of talks, they never seemed to end well, but it turned out he and Eddie wanted the same thing- each other. After that things fell into place. Eddie had been offered a desk job in DC and Richie was more than happy to follow. At this point Eddie felt more like home than any location. 

“But man, if you’ve never been pinned by a professional, it's hot. Knowing he could snap your neck at any second? Me-ow.” Richie pretended to scan the audience. “No? Just me? Well, you guys are missing out. ” 

Jeremy had pleaded guilty. Mr. Anderson had never faltered. He denied everything, tried to say he was conned into it. His trial was starting soon and they’d both be called as witnesses. Richie was following it on the news. It was a hot story. For a few weeks he and Eddie had been household names, even appeared as answers in buzzfeed quizzes -the true sign of fame (Eddie got himself in every single quiz and Richie got nearly everyone else). They’d had book and movie offers. But they’d said no, for now at least. All they wanted now was some peace and quiet, maybe a dog. 

Richie saw the red light, signalling that his time was up. “You’ve all been great, enjoy your night!” The crowd clapped, a few whooped, and he left the staged, exhilarated.

Waiting for him, nearly hidden by a huge bouquet of flowers, was Eddie, frowning at him. “I thought we agreed not to tell the joke about my running shorts.”

“But baby,” Richie stepped to him, his hands finding Eddie’s hips and squeezing them. “That was everyone’s favorite.”

“But-”

Richie pressed a finger to his lips, shaking his head. “Shh, let’s just enjoy how well I did.”

Under his finger Eddie smiled. “You killed it.” He pressed a kiss to the finger. “They loved you.”

“Fuck yea they did.” 

Eddie took Richie’s hand off his mouth, threading their fingers together. “Should we go somewhere to celebrate?” 

Richie glanced around and, seeing no one, pressed Eddie against the wall, pressing his lips to Eddie’s. “Yea, home, where we can celebrate all night long.”

Eddie snorted. “Like you can last all night.” 

He stumbled backwards, pretending to be hurt. “My fragile ego!”

“Please, nothing about you is fragile.” Eddie grabbed Richie’s shirt, pulling him back and kissing him again. He melted into it. It was impossible not to. Richie still wasn't over that he got to kiss Eddie whenever he wanted- and that Eddie wanted to kiss him too.

“Let's get out of here before you get me banned from this club for being inappropriate.” Richie muttered. 

“Me?” Eddie asked,feigning innocence. “I have no idea what you mean.” He smiled coly up at Richie, squeezing his hand. Richie’s heart felt so full it could burst. He’d never imagined that his life would turn out like this, strange but perfect in it’s ridiculousness, but he wouldn’t have traded it for the world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eee its finished! I debated about the epilogue because I hate writing comedy but I hope you guys liked it! Some happy closure for them (minus all the ptsd and therapy they both def need)   
Thank you everyone for the comments and kudos!! I love hearing from people!

**Author's Note:**

> If you follow me on tumblr you know this fic got the most votes for a contest I had. Hope everyone enjoys!   
(also Eddie is 100% correct, pineapple does not belong on pizza)


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